María Estelí Jiménez-Soto (NFS – FST) PI, Agroecosystem Responses to Climate Change, Biodiversity Loss and Food Insecurity in the United States and Latin America, Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR). 9/1/22-9/1/25
Climate change, biodiversity loss, and food insecurity are three of the most pressing challenges facing humanity in the 21st Century. To address these challenges, ecological science has stressed the centrality of conserving biodiversity in agroecosystems, which are coupled social and ecological systems that sustain the production of food. Biodiverse systems support food production, but also provide answers to current human and environmental issues. This research uses transdisciplinary, multi-regional and community-based approaches to examine the impacts of agricultural simplification and climate change on biodiversity and the relationship between biodiversity, ecosystem functions, and ecosystem services in rural and urban agricultural landscapes. Partnering with local food systems organizations, such as the Syracuse-Onondaga Food Systems Alliance (SOFSA), this work mobilizes collective solutions to social and environmental crises affecting our food system.