Executive summary

Excerpt

In the winter of 1995-1996, the Soil and Water Conservation Society established an Issue Survey Task Force to identify natural resource issues that should be addressed and activities that would be appropriate to achieve the Society's mission. One issue identified was that “Improvements are needed in capabilities to identify and to address natural resource management issues in a holistic manner (ecosystem/watershed/whole farm/new partnerships) with an objective of sustainable resource use.” The task force recommended that an interdisciplinary cadre of scientists and practitioners be assembled to (i) review what is known about ecosystem dynamics as it relates to the sustainability of soil and water resources, (ii) determine what needs to be understood so that soil and water resources can be effectively managed to sustain ecological integrity while maintaining economic livelihoods, and (iii) develop a white paper for distribution to policy makers and research and education institutions. The staff of the USDA Agricultural Research Service in Watkinsville, GA, proposed to the board of directors to organize and host a conference “Interactions: Investigating Ecosystem Dynamics at a Watershed Level” in collaboration with the Society. The conference goals were to:

1) Provide a forum …