Society is asking farmers to manage for multiple ecosystem services. In addition to food, fuel, and fiber, we expect farms to store soil C, purify water, support wildlife, and provide aesthetically appealing viewsheds, among other functions. The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment formalized a typology of ecosystem services, which could help to structure agroecological research and management goals. As a group, our research in grassland ecosystems spans many levels of ecological organization, from grass identification at the DNA level to landscape diversity effects on alternative biofuels cropping systems, and employs a variety of experimental methods including on-farm mensurative studies and manipulative experiments at research stations and glasshouses. We classified many of the studies in our lab with respect to the ecosystem services being addressed.

Results/Conclusions

This framework allowed us to target gaps in our research and identify the strengths and weaknesses of individual projects. We believe this approach can be particularly helpful to scientists working across disciplinary lines who often encounter unique challenges, such as limited funding sources and publication outlets. The ecosystem services framework, as demonstrated here, fosters dynamic interdisciplinary collaboration, while helping researchers integrate research goals and objectives of the ecosystems they study.