Sustainable Land Use Systems

We are building an FNR signature program that addresses the overarching research question: What ecological footprints are needed for sustainable land use futures? Specific research questions explored are:

1. What individual behaviors impact ecological footprints?
2. How can tools such as models and decision support systems be used to determine the course to sustainability?
3. How can policies be adopted that alter behaviors to sustain ecological footprints?

Members of the SLUS group believe that a fresh approach is needed and places sustainability into a context of lifestyle choices, behavior characteristic of landowners and decision makers, and biological thresholds and carrying capacity limits occurring in ecosystems. Our project is designed to help frame current discussions on land use occurring in Indiana, including: What would ecological footprints of a biofuel future look like for Indiana? If current development trends continue, what would the ecological consequences be? What are the configurations, location, and quantity of wild lands needed to sustain ecosystems? What behaviors (drivers of change) impact the use of our land for housing, economic development, food, fiber, wildlife, and energy?

Goals

To determine ecological footprints needed for sustainable land use futures.

2 Year Objectives

1. Build capacity and tools that result in sustainable land use systems

2. Demonstrate ability to apply expertise and tools to land use planning problems that impact sustainable ecological footprints

3. Develop proof of concept material that will be used to seek funding from large extramural funding programs

Purpose

The Sustainable Land Use Area of Excellence builds upon the expertise of faculty and staff in the Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, utilizes the rich datasets and tools we have developed, and links to successful extension programs that engage communities in using our discoveries to inform local land use and economic development decisions. Project activities center around 6 integrated tasks:

• Data development and integration
• Sustainability framework development
• Model development and application
• Decision support system enhancement
• Community engagement
• Student mentoring and interdisciplinary team building

This integrated research and extension project will support and enhance the emerging undergraduate program in Natural Resource Planning and Decision Making. This Area of Excellence addresses the following 4 goals of NSF’s new strategic plan:

• Achieving a sustainable lifestyle
• Increasing multidisciplinary research
• Improving computational infrastructure and development of new tools
• Connecting all research to social/policy issues of global relevance

Participating Faculty and Staff

Bryan Pijanowski (Co-chair) Paul Brown Richard Farnsworth Reuben Goforth Tomas Höök

William Hoover Linda Prokopy Marisol Sepulveda Guofan Shao Rob Swihart

Products and Publications

Outcomes

Upcoming Events and Presentations

Recent News