I've actually been thinking about this, rather casually, for a couple of decades. For one thing, this kind of understanding would be necessary for a long-term closed environment, like for a large space colony. Also, it would be useful, like a seed bank, in restoring the earth if there was a sufficiently bad catastrophe.
Are you aware of bioreacter/chemostat research? If so, could you suggest some "best of breed" review articles or a textbook on the subject? I know of the research but haven't read into its literature, and would appreciate an educated pointer :-)
I have just received a survey questionnaire regarding future directions in EU (European Union) research funding, and thought it would be interesting to see how LessWrong would answer the main question:
Imagine that EU funding is available for one ambitious, visionary project extending beyond 2020.