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Interaction |
Description |
References |
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Climate, Topography, and Soils
Land Cover and Hydrology |
Basic ecological relationships facilitate and constrain interactions among
other aspects of the system.
The Corn Belt has a temperate climate and deep
glacial soils, making it one of the most versatile agricultural regions in the
world. Based on soil and topographical patterns, different landscape positions
are better suited to different agricultural and conservation uses. Future
global climate change may impact average temperature and precipitation, weather
severity, and the regional fit of different cover types in ways that are
difficult to predict. |
Alley et al. 2003, Schulte et al. 2006, Millar et al. 2007 |
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Policy  Markets  Technology |
U.S. federal farm policy is designed, in part, to impact the markets of
different kinds of crops. In recent decades, a high proportion of federal
support for farms has been directed to create price supports for production of
commodity row crops such as corn and soybeans. Federal regulations and
subsidies can also be instrumental in helping to spur new technologies and
markets, e.g., corn-based ethanol. |
Workshop Data; Keeney and Kemp 2002 |
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TechnologyHydrology, Land Cover, Infield Care |
Agricultural and environmental technologies influence what is possible in
land use and care. Currently, emerging technological pathways associated with
different types of bioenergy production are influencing new patterns in land
cover and care, which in turn enhance or erode ecological outcomes. The
region’s hydrologic structures are collectively managed entities that have
been altered over decadal time frames through changes in technology, policy,
institutions, and cultural norms. |
Workshop Data; Landis et al. 2008, Atwell et al. 2009b, Porter et al.
2009 |
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Markets and Policy Rural Demographics |
Over the last several decades, declining crop prices and increasing input
costs have lowered farmers’ terms of trade leading to the need for
operators to farm more land to make a living. Although agricultural policies have
provided funding to support the agricultural system, most of this money supports
large-scale commodity crop farms, e.g., corn and soybeans, and land owners, who
may not live in rural areas. This has led to fewer farmers in rural areas, an
increase in average farmer age, and a decrease in population, numbers of young
farmers, commerce, and connectedness in rural communities. |
Heady et al. 1965, Keeney and Kemp 2002, EWG 2006, Lobao and
Stofferahn 2007 |
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Technology, Markets, and Farm ProfitabilityFarmer Decisions |
Changing markets and emerging technologies influence farmers’ land
use decisions. To make a living, farmers must be attentive to the profitability
of their farms. If new agricultural and conservation practices are to be
adopted at broad scales, they must be profitable and fit with current
technological and market trends in agriculture. |
McCown 2005, Atwell et al. 2009a,b |
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Federal Farm PolicyFarmer Decisions |
Federal farm policy has been shown to influence farmer decisions in many
ways. Commodity and conservation subsidies have had widespread impacts on land
use at broad scales. The ways in which policies are funded and implemented at
local levels can also play a key role in mediating enforcement of regulations
and farmers’ participation in incentive programs. Long-term, consistent,
and straightforward programs that are compatible with farm practices,
priorities, and profitability are more likely to elicit high
participation. |
Workshop data; Keeney and Kemp 2002, McCown 2005, Atwell et al. 2009a,b |
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Rural DemographicsCommunity Norms and Network; Farmer Decisions |
Changing demographics, including loss of people, especially young farmers,
from the land and decline in community commerce and vitality, impacts the
quality and connectedness of life in rural communities. Because many farmers
are nearing retirement and do not know who will farm their land after them, they
are reticent to make major changes in their farming practices. Corn Belt
stakeholders emphasized that potential for change in other aspects of the system
hinges upon bolstering the vitality of the region’s struggling rural
communities. |
McCown 2005, Jordan et al. 2007, Morton 2008, Atwell et al. 2009a,b |
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Regional InstitutionsAgricultural Technology, Markets, and Federal Farm Policy
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Agricultural and conservation interests in the Corn Belt, including policy
makers, government agencies, and large nonprofit and lobby groups, have an
influence on federal farm policy. Our workshop participants indicate that these
regional institutions have the potential to influence the development of new
markets and technologies to empower agricultural land uses that can achieve
desired outcomes. |
Workshop Data; Keeney and Kemp 2002 |
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Regional Institutions Community Norms and Networks
Farmer Decisions |
Farmers’ decisions are based upon many factors that operate at
several different scales, and are not purely rational economic evaluations. The
interaction among community social norms and networks and regional institutions,
e.g., societal laws and customs, government agencies, nonprofit organizations,
agricultural and conservation groups, can play a key role in mediating the
influence of macroscale markets, technologies, and policies on farmers’
land use values and decisions. |
Workshop Data; Fliegel and Korsching 2001, Ajzen 2005, McCown 2005, Morton
2008, Atwell et al. 2009a,b, 2010 |
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HydrologyPerennial Cover
Infield Care |
Underground networks of pipelines drain wetlands to increase cropping
efficiency, while channelized streams remove water from the landscape during wet
seasons and create more land for crops. These hydrologic alterations also
increase soil loss and flood severity and deliver water-bound nutrients, like
nitrate-nitrogen, directly into regional waterways where they cause prolific
algal growth and hypoxia. The amount, position, type, and quality of perennial
cover has been shown to impact regional biodiversity, water quality, and other
ecosystem services, in part by uptake of extra nutrients. To achieve these
outcomes, implementation of practices must be coordinated across
landscapes. |
Best et al. 1995, Crumpton 2001, Keeney and Kemp 2002, Schultz et al. 2004,
Schulte et al. 2006, Jordan et al. 2007, Nassauer et al. 2007, Hatfield et al.
2008, Schulte et al. 2008, Porter et al. 2009 |
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Institutions, Community Norms and Networks, Farmer
DecisionsHydrology, Perennial Cover, and Infield Care |
Because 90% of the land in the Corn Belt lies in privately owned and
operated farms, the form and function of landscape-scale hydrological systems
and vegetation patterns hinge upon the collective decisions and careful
management of farm owners and operators. Social norms and the involvement of
regional institutions such as agriculture and conservation nonprofit
organizations or government agencies, in community networks also interplay with
farmer decisions to impact hydrology, land use, and land care at landscape
scales. |
Workshop Data; USDA NASS 2004, Morton 2008, Atwell et al. 2009a,b, 2010 |
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Hydrology, Perennial Cover, Infield CareCarbon Sequestration,
Soil and Water Quality, Flooding,
Biodiversity |
Building soil quality, carbon sequestration, biodiversity, and
controlling the loss of water and nutrients from the land, require attention to
the interaction between hydrology, and the amount, type, position, and quality
of perennial cover in agricultural landscapes. To achieve these outcomes,
landscape-scale planning and careful management of both hydrologic structures
and infield cropping systems is essential. |
Workshop Data; Crumpton 2001, Schultz et al.
2004, Schulte et al. 2006, Jordan et al. 2007, Nassauer et al. 2007, Hatfield et
al. 2008, Landis et al. 2008, Broussard and Turner 2009 |
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Perennial Vegetation
Carbon Sequestrationing
Climate Change |
Forests, grasslands, and other forms of vegetative cover are instrumental
in absorbing carbon from the atmosphere and offsetting the effects of greenhouse
gas emission on global climate change. When compared to either corn-based
ethanol or soy biodiesel, biofuels made from diverse perennial mixtures have
been shown to sequester more carbon, produce greater energy per unit area, and
lead to greater reductions in green house gas emissions. |
Tilman et al. 2006, Millar et al. 2007 |
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Water, Wildlife, and Biodiversity
Recreation and Aesthetics
Rural Vitality |
Both social and economic benefits have the potential to be realized through
landscape change targeting biodiversity. Regional counties that include, or are
surrounded by, natural amenities such as green belt trails, preserves, and lakes
are increasing in per capita income. Rural residents in a large agricultural
watershed in the Upper Midwest assign high value to living in a healthy
environment, conserving natural resources for future generations, and
experiencing a serene and peaceful natural environment. |
Stein et al. 1999, Santelmann et al. 2004, Monchuck et al. 2007 |
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