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Transitioning to Sustainability Through Research and Development on Ecosystem Services and Biofuels: Workshop Summary

Although much is known about ecosystem services, a number of research gaps exist, and there are opportunities to strengthen collaboration. One of the major goals of this workshop was to discuss the current work of federal agencies in ecosystem services’ R&D related to sustainability while, at the same time, identify opportunities for program/project collaboration. Ecosystem services are the ecological processes that sustain and fulfill human life. General distinctions exist between provisioning, cultural, and regulating ecosystem services. Examples of these services include: • Provisioning—food, fresh water, fiber, and fuel; bull; Cultural—aesthetics, spiritual or educational, recreational betterment of humankind; bull; Regulating processes that mitigate floods, purify air, and control agricultural pests. The public is generally aware of provisioning and cultural ecosystem services, and institutions have been created to manage them, but regulating ecosystem services tend to be less recognizable to the non-technical community. Many federal agencies have created R&D programs and projects related to ecosystem services and sustainability. Common research foci among the federal agencies’ research and development strategies include aspects of climate change, life cycle assessments of multiple resources, ecological monitoring, climate modeling ecosystem management, and holistic, place-based ecosystem analyses.