Land use change is central to the overall sustainability debate as it is a primary driver of global environmental change. Forest ecosystems provide a variety of important goods and services for humans. However, forest ecosystems are a victim of deforestation mostly due to ever-expanding commercial agriculture and urbanization. Consequently, deforestation will change the provisions of forest-based ecosystem services in the future. The relationship between deforestation, ecosystem services, and human well-being is complex and influenced by multiple drivers operating across scales. Integrative research is a key in overcoming fundamental problems related to such complex systems.Several studies have analyzed the social, economic, and environmental impacts of deforestation in the context of developing countries. However, no study, to the best of our knowledge, has focused on the role of expanding demand for agricultural commodities on deforestation in the context of developed countries. An integrative approach was used to understand linkages between deforestation and agricultural expansion in southeastern Georgia where about 15,000 hectares of evergreen forestlands and grasslands have been converted to blueberry farms between 2010 and 2017.An economic model for understanding the profitability between two competing land use (pine plantation and blueberry) in southeastern Georgia was utilized. A site suitability model using geospatial tools for blueberry production in southeastern Georgia was developed. Using a combination of different tools (InVEST, TerrSet, and ArcGIS), the land use change dynamics in the Alabaha watershed and its effects on the ecosystem services, in general, and habitat quality for Gopher tortoise, in particular, was analyzed. Finally, to understand the motivations of landowners for growing blueberries instead of pine, using Q-method where both qualitative and quantitative research approaches were combined. This research provides useful information for policymakers and land managers in designing appropriate incentives and extension services for sustaining the forestry sector in Georgia and other neighboring states which are facing similar challenges in the context of deforestation. The study also finds that innovative land use policy and integrated landscape management strategies for the human-dominated landscapes are particularly important for ensuring continuance and enhancement of forest-based ecosystem services.
