Circles of live buffer strips in a center pivot to improve multiple ecosystem services and sustainability of irrigated agriculture in the southern Great Plains

Life on Earth, including that of humans, depends entirely on ecosystem services. In spite of that, in the last 50 to 60 years, human activities have degraded ecosystems more rapidly than in any comparable time in human history (MEA 2005). This is happening at a time when the global population is rapidly increasing to reach nine billion and other drivers, like climate change, overexploitation and pollution of natural resources, and economic growth, are also increasing (Carpenter 2009). Therefore, innovative ideas are needed to improve ecosystem services while increasing food production.