Team Project, Sustainable Science: The Future of Food, Energy, and Water

Part One: Getting to know PE/WI and establishing goals

Please summarize some important aspects of the physical characteristics of the model, and discuss how
these characteristics might influence land use decisions.

Topography:

Flood frequency:

Strategic wetlands:

Drainage class:

Think about each of the indicators or metrics that PE/WI measures. Define each metric in your own
words. Please make sure to write the units (metric) for each measure. In addition, for the metrics in red,
write a few land uses or spatial locations that might improve the indicator.

Alfalfa yield:

Cattle supported:

Corn yield:

Hay yield:
Herbaceous perennial bioenergy yield:

Mixed fruit and vegetable yield:

Short-rotation woody bioenergy yield:

Soybean yield:

Timber production:

Erosion control/gross erosion:

Phosphorus pollution control/in-stream loading:

Sediment control/in-stream delivery:

Nitrate pollution control/in-stream concentration:

Biodiversity:

Game wildlife:

Carbon sequestration:
Explore the effects of each type of land use on the metrics above. Cover the entire watershed in each one
of the land uses. Fill in each chart below, and write 2-3 sentences describing the positive and negative
implications of that land use.

Corn

Indicator Units Value

Alfalfa yield
Cattle supported
Corn yield
Hay yield
Herbaceous perennial bioenergy yield
Mixed fruit and vegetable yield
Short-rotation woody bioenergy yield
Soybean yield
Timber production
Erosion control/gross erosion
Phosphorus pollution control/in-stream loading
Sediment control/in-stream delivery
Nitrate pollution control/in-stream concentration
Biodiversity
Game wildlife
Carbon sequestration
Conservation corn

Indicator Units Value

Alfalfa yield
Cattle supported
Corn yield
Hay yield
Herbaceous perennial bioenergy yield
Mixed fruit and vegetable yield
Short-rotation woody bioenergy yield
Soybean yield
Timber production
Erosion control/gross erosion
Phosphorus pollution control/in-stream loading
Sediment control/in-stream delivery
Nitrate pollution control/in-stream concentration
Biodiversity
Game wildlife
Carbon sequestration
Soybeans

Indicator Units Value

Alfalfa yield
Cattle supported
Corn yield
Hay yield
Herbaceous perennial bioenergy yield
Mixed fruit and vegetable yield
Short-rotation woody bioenergy yield
Soybean yield
Timber production
Erosion control/gross erosion
Phosphorus pollution control/in-stream loading
Sediment control/in-stream delivery
Nitrate pollution control/in-stream concentration
Biodiversity
Game wildlife
Carbon sequestration
Conservation soybeans

Indicator Units Value

Alfalfa yield
Cattle supported
Corn yield
Hay yield
Herbaceous perennial bioenergy yield
Mixed fruit and vegetable yield
Short-rotation woody bioenergy yield
Soybean yield
Timber production
Erosion control/gross erosion
Phosphorus pollution control/in-stream loading
Sediment control/in-stream delivery
Nitrate pollution control/in-stream concentration
Biodiversity
Game wildlife
Carbon sequestration
Alfalfa

Indicator Units Value

Alfalfa yield
Cattle supported
Corn yield
Hay yield
Herbaceous perennial bioenergy yield
Mixed fruit and vegetable yield
Short-rotation woody bioenergy yield
Soybean yield
Timber production
Erosion control/gross erosion
Phosphorus pollution control/in-stream loading
Sediment control/in-stream delivery
Nitrate pollution control/in-stream concentration
Biodiversity
Game wildlife
Carbon sequestration
Mixed fruit and vegetable production

Indicator Units Value

Alfalfa yield
Cattle supported
Corn yield
Hay yield
Herbaceous perennial bioenergy yield
Mixed fruit and vegetable yield
Short-rotation woody bioenergy yield
Soybean yield
Timber production
Erosion control/gross erosion
Phosphorus pollution control/in-stream loading
Sediment control/in-stream delivery
Nitrate pollution control/in-stream concentration
Biodiversity
Game wildlife
Carbon sequestration
Hay

Indicator Units Value

Alfalfa yield
Cattle supported
Corn yield
Hay yield
Herbaceous perennial bioenergy yield
Mixed fruit and vegetable yield
Short-rotation woody bioenergy yield
Soybean yield
Timber production
Erosion control/gross erosion
Phosphorus pollution control/in-stream loading
Sediment control/in-stream delivery
Nitrate pollution control/in-stream concentration
Biodiversity
Game wildlife
Carbon sequestration
Herbaceous bioenergy

Indicator Units Value

Alfalfa yield
Cattle supported
Corn yield
Hay yield
Herbaceous perennial bioenergy yield
Mixed fruit and vegetable yield
Short-rotation woody bioenergy yield
Soybean yield
Timber production
Erosion control/gross erosion
Phosphorus pollution control/in-stream loading
Sediment control/in-stream delivery
Nitrate pollution control/in-stream concentration
Biodiversity
Game wildlife
Carbon sequestration
Pasture

Indicator Units Value

Alfalfa yield
Cattle supported
Corn yield
Hay yield
Herbaceous perennial bioenergy yield
Mixed fruit and vegetable yield
Short-rotation woody bioenergy yield
Soybean yield
Timber production
Erosion control/gross erosion
Phosphorus pollution control/in-stream loading
Sediment control/in-stream delivery
Nitrate pollution control/in-stream concentration
Biodiversity
Game wildlife
Carbon sequestration
Rotational grazing

Indicator Units Value

Alfalfa yield
Cattle supported
Corn yield
Hay yield
Herbaceous perennial bioenergy yield
Mixed fruit and vegetable yield
Short-rotation woody bioenergy yield
Soybean yield
Timber production
Erosion control/gross erosion
Phosphorus pollution control/in-stream loading
Sediment control/in-stream delivery
Nitrate pollution control/in-stream concentration
Biodiversity
Game wildlife
Carbon sequestration
Wetland

Indicator Units Value

Alfalfa yield
Cattle supported
Corn yield
Hay yield
Herbaceous perennial bioenergy yield
Mixed fruit and vegetable yield
Short-rotation woody bioenergy yield
Soybean yield
Timber production
Erosion control/gross erosion
Phosphorus pollution control/in-stream loading
Sediment control/in-stream delivery
Nitrate pollution control/in-stream concentration
Biodiversity
Game wildlife
Carbon sequestration
Prairie

Indicator Units Value

Alfalfa yield
Cattle supported
Corn yield
Hay yield
Herbaceous perennial bioenergy yield
Mixed fruit and vegetable yield
Short-rotation woody bioenergy yield
Soybean yield
Timber production
Erosion control/gross erosion
Phosphorus pollution control/in-stream loading
Sediment control/in-stream delivery
Nitrate pollution control/in-stream concentration
Biodiversity
Game wildlife
Carbon sequestration
Conventional forest

Indicator Units Value

Alfalfa yield
Cattle supported
Corn yield
Hay yield
Herbaceous perennial bioenergy yield
Mixed fruit and vegetable yield
Short-rotation woody bioenergy yield
Soybean yield
Timber production
Erosion control/gross erosion
Phosphorus pollution control/in-stream loading
Sediment control/in-stream delivery
Nitrate pollution control/in-stream concentration
Biodiversity
Game wildlife
Carbon sequestration
Conservation forest

Indicator Units Value

Alfalfa yield
Cattle supported
Corn yield
Hay yield
Herbaceous perennial bioenergy yield
Mixed fruit and vegetable yield
Short-rotation woody bioenergy yield
Soybean yield
Timber production
Erosion control/gross erosion
Phosphorus pollution control/in-stream loading
Sediment control/in-stream delivery
Nitrate pollution control/in-stream concentration
Biodiversity
Game wildlife
Carbon sequestration
Woody bioenergy

Indicator Units Value

Alfalfa yield
Cattle supported
Corn yield
Hay yield
Herbaceous perennial bioenergy yield
Mixed fruit and vegetable yield
Short-rotation woody bioenergy yield
Soybean yield
Timber production
Erosion control/gross erosion
Phosphorus pollution control/in-stream loading
Sediment control/in-stream delivery
Nitrate pollution control/in-stream concentration
Biodiversity
Game wildlife
Carbon sequestration
Summarize the effects of the land use decisions in the table below. If there is a tie for land uses, please
note that.

Indicator Land use with highest Land use with lowest

Alfalfa yield
Cattle supported
Corn yield
Hay yield
Herbaceous perennial bioenergy yield
Mixed fruit and vegetable yield
Short-rotation woody bioenergy yield
Soybean yield
Timber production
Erosion control/gross erosion
Phosphorus pollution control/in-stream loading
Sediment control/in-stream delivery
Nitrate pollution control/in-stream
concentration
Biodiversity
Game wildlife
Carbon sequestration

For each indicator, provide a 2-3 sentence explanation of why the land use was the lowest and highest.
Note if there were any results that surprised you.

Alfalfa yield:

Cattle supported:

Corn yield:

Hay yield:

Herbaceous perennial bioenergy yield:

Mixed fruit and vegetable yield:

Short-rotation woody bioenergy yield:

Soybean yield:

Timber production:

Erosion control/gross erosion:

Phosphorus pollution control/in-stream loading:

Sediment control/in-stream delivery:

Nitrate pollution control/in-stream concentration:

Biodiversity:

Game wildlife:

Carbon sequestration:

Which of the goals do you think is most important to meet for each of the pillars of sustainability? For
example, if you were prioritizing the landscape for ecological goals, which of the indicators are most
important to meet? Economic goals? Social goals? Why?