This study will incorporate the outputs from other studies in this grant into an integrated economic framework to assess any tradeoffs in ecosystem services and agricultural production, and to evaluate policy options that incentivize adoption using an integrated framework. The willingness-to-pay benefit estimates will be contrasted against the costs of the management interventions (i.e., changes in producer profits, seed costs associated with increasing native plant species and genetic diversity) and the genomic tools required to assess ecosystem service provisioning. Applying this integrated framework, we will evaluate the ecosystem service implications of alternative agricultural management practices and policies on the landscape and identify priorities for native prairie conservation that can balance provision of ecosystem services with agricultural productivity.

This analysis will enable an estimation of the benefits and costs of achieving native grassland ecosystem service objectives and can be used to inform pricing and design of incentive programs (e.g., targeted Alternative Land-use Solutions programs, reverse auctions), and strategic retention or restoration of native grasslands in agricultural areas. Using the resultant information, we will develop web-based tools to highlight how increases in ecosystem services could improve market and values for producers.

This information will provide important support to the development and implementation of policy instruments targeted at the provision of ecosystem services from grassland ecosystems. In particular, the insights developed will inform policy approaches that enable producers and agricultural managers to make informed decisions on ecosystem service provision and on management that conserves or enhances ecosystem services. As part of this work, we will explore potential complementarity and/or trade-offs of information-based, regulatory, and monetary incentive-based policy instruments.