ISAS was established on 1 April 2010 integrating the University Farm and the Experimental Station for Landscape Plants along with the facilities of the Tanashi Experimental Station of the University Forests. Its mission: scientific endeavor toward sustainable ecosystem services is made with field-based studies in Nishitokyo, west of Tokyo.

ISAS has three main foci in its research and education. The information technology group focuses on societal values of agriculture and forestry in provision of ecosystem services. Focus for the ecosystem management group is on conservation of rural and urban landscapes. The agonomy-biogeochemistry group puts focus on the functioning of the ecosystem components and their interconnections in provision of foods and materials.