Frame-based Model for Forecasting Ecosystem Services

A frame-based model was used to develop scenarios of land-use change in response to forested wetland restoration from USDA conservation practices in the Lower Mississippi Valley (LMV). The Wetland Reserve Program (WRP) and Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) are the two programs responsible for the majority of restoration of marginal agricultural cropland in the LMV. Site and landscape data were used to quantify ecosystem services at landscape scales for various future scenarios. Five metrics of ecosystem services related to wildlife habitat (bird species richness, duck energy days, amphibian occupancy rates), climate regulation (carbon sequestration), and water quality (potential nitrate retention) are currently modeled. The model parameters were chosen based on expert-designed conceptual models, analysis of field data, and existing scientific literature.

Frame-based Landscape Model