PEWI: A Dynamic Land Use & Ecosystem Service Tradeoffs Assessment ToolRobert Valek, Lisa Schulte Moore, John Tyndall | Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, USA

What is PEWI? Learning Goals Try it Out

Funding from The McKnight Foundation, US Forest Service Northern Research Station, Iowa State University Department of Agronomy, Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, and USDA McIntire-Stennis Program have supported

development of PEWI. We thank Assata Caldwell, Cindy Cambardella, Carrie Chennault, Justin Choe, Diane Debinski, Ranae Dietzel, Stephanie Enloe, Ryan Frahm, Nancy Grudens-Schuck, Emily Heaton, Matt Helmers, Noah Hagen, Jake Hill,

Michael Hofmockel, Tom Isenhart, Charlie Labuzzetta, Matt Liebman, Devan McGranahan, Elise Miller, Larysa Nadolny, Laura Roy, Nancy Shyrock, John VanDyk, and the Natural Capital Project for contribution to PEWI’s development and review.Acknowledgements

Land-use Options in PEWI

Play OnlineTo play, access background information,

or download learning exercises:

nrem.iastate.edu/pewi

PEWI 3.0 includes an in-game glossary with

relevant definitions and explanations to assist

users and inform the learning process.

Conservation

Corn

Conservation

Soybean

Mixed Fruits

& Vegetables

Herbaceous

Perennial

Bioenergy

Rotational

Grazing

Prairie

Conservation

Forest

Short-rotation

Woody

Bioenergy

Learning Ecologically Complex Interactions

PEWI puts the user in the driver’s seat to creatively

imagine alternative land-use configurations. Outputs

dynamically respond to constraints in the biophysical

environment and user’s land use choices.

The 2400-ha (6000-ac) watershed in PEWI is based on

the physiographic characteristics of two Iowa

landforms: the Des Moines Lobe landform and

Southern Iowa Drift Plain.

Each landform presents unique challenges to users in

achieving their agricultural and environmental goals.

These goals take shape as users annually design the

watershed with 15 available land uses over 3 years.

Experimenting with Trade-offs

PEWI users consider both

synergies and tradeoffs

among the multiple

objectives they hold for

agricultural landscapes.

Develop Land-use Scenarios

Conservation crops

with strategic land use

Conservation &

alternative crops with

strategic land use

Traditional corn &

soybean system

Example 1

Example 2

Example 3

Interactively Evaluate Results

Physical Features:

Soil Class and Drainage

Class are 2 of 5 physical

features in PEWI.

Weather Variability: Each year, users

randomly encounter 1 of 7 annual

precipitation levels.

Responding to Geographic & Interannual Variability

Agriculture Production of annual and perennial

crops & livestock

Biodiversity Habitat for native species & game

wildlife

Soil Soil erosion & control, soil carbon

sequestration

Water In-stream nitrate, phosphorus &

sediment delivery

Conventional

Corn

Conventional

Soybean

Alfalfa

Grass Hay

Permanent

Pasture

Wetland

Conventional

Forest

PEWI, short for People in Ecosystems/Watershed

Integration, is a simple web-based learning tool

to help people understand human-landscape

interactions. PEWI addresses our need to

balance agricultural production with other

environmental benefits, including clean water,

abundant wildlife, and recreation. While PEWI

focuses on the US Corn Belt, its lessons apply to

agricultural regions across the globe.

The results of user

watershed designs

can be evaluated in

three ways:

(Above) through interactive plots, (Right)

through numerical scores, and (Left) for a

subset of scores, through mapped output.

Interface Customizations

Multiplayer Map

Divisions

Customize

Sandbox Interface

Restrictions