12,925 research outputs found
Conservation Reserve Program: Environmental Benefits Update
This paper presents the methodology, assumptions, and data used to generate regional and national environmental benefit estimates of the USDA’s Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). It’s assumed that, without the program, production and conservation practices on CRP lands would be the same as those used on surrounding lands. When range and forest lands are (are not) included as land-use options, 54 (71) percent of the CRP land would be in crop production—which is consistent with past analyses. Soil erosion would be 222 to 248 million tons per year—about 11 percent—higher than the current level. Benefits are estimated by applying environmental benefit models, estimated in previous analyses, to the CRP’s estimated effect on erosion and wildlife habitat. Nationally, the CRP is estimated to provide $1.3 billion in annual benefits, which represents 75 to 80 percent of the program’s cost. In seven of the 10 USDA Farm Production Regions, the CRP’s environmental benefits exceed costs. Thus, reallocating acreage to these regions could increase net program benefits. However, because many benefits could not be estimated, one cannot conclude that regional and national benefits do not exceed costs.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,
Restoration of Wetland Services: Economic Gains to the Farmland Owner
The objective of this analysis is to describe and, if possible, measure gains that farmland owners may have seen because of the public's demand for wetland services. To do so, we first consider landowners' ability to directly sell onsite (hunting, fishing, wildlife viewing) and offsite (water quality, groundwater recharge, etc.) wetland services. We found little evidence that landowners sell wetland services. We then consider farmland owners' gains from the mitigation banking system. We found that, with less than 200 approved mitigation banks on farmland, farmland owners had some but limited opportunities to participate in mitigation markets. Finally, we consider landowners' gains from the sale of wetland easements through the USDA's Wetland Reserve Program (WRP). Although we are unable to quantify any gains, the popularity of the program suggests that landowners do gain by participating - since the mid-1990's, more landowners have tried to enroll than program limits allow. Furthermore, two factors suggest that WRP gains are widespread. First, WRP easements have been sold in every State. And second, easement prices have increased over time which may indicate that owners of higher-valued lands may be seeing opportunities to participate.Land Economics/Use,
The Viability of Creating Wetlands for the Sale of Carbon Offsets
This analysis estimates the profitability of restoring wetlands for the sale of carbon offsets. Results indicate that about 7% to 12% of the recently restored grassed wetlands of the prairie pothole and high plains regions and 20% to 35% of the forested wetlands of the Mississippi alluvial valley and Gulf-Atlantic coastal flats regions could have carbon offset values that exceed the cost of restoring the wetland and the opportunity cost of moving the land out of agricultural production. Given the uncertainties, the analysis applies conservative estimates of wetlands’ costs, offset prices, and wetlands’ effects on greenhouse gases.carbon markets, carbon sequestration, offsets, wetland restoration, Environmental Economics and Policy, Land Economics/Use,
INCREASED RESERVOIR BENEFITS: THE CONTRIBUTION OF SOIL CONSERVATION PROGRAMS
The objective of this research is to value soil conservation's impact on reservoirs. Using a model based on replacement cost, we estimate the benefits gained by marginal decreases in soil erosion for more than 75,000 reservoirs across the contiguous States. We aggregate benefits across the reservoirs within each of the 2,111 U.S watersheds in order to produce regional benefit estimates. Results show that a one-ton reduction in soil erosion provides benefits ranging from zero to 139 million in reservoir benefits.Environmental Economics and Policy,
Better Targeting, Better Outcomes
A multitude of design decisions influence the performance of voluntary conservation programs. This Economic Brief is one of a set of five exploring the implications of decisions policymakers and program managers must make about who is eligible to receive payments, how much can be received, for what action, and the means by which applicants are selected. The particular issue addressed here is options for targeting program payments to where they can yield the greatest gain.Agricultural and Food Policy, Environmental Economics and Policy,
Expansions of the solutions of the biconfluent Heun equation in terms of incomplete Beta and Gamma functions
Starting from equations obeyed by functions involving the first or the second
derivatives of the biconfluent Heun function, we construct two expansions of
the solutions of the biconfluent Heun equation in terms of incomplete Beta
functions. The first series applies single Beta functions as expansion
functions, while the second one involves a combination of two Beta functions.
The coefficients of expansions obey four- and five-term recurrence relations,
respectively. It is shown that the proposed technique is potent to produce
series solutions in terms of other special functions. Two examples of such
expansions in terms of the incomplete Gamma functions are presente
VALUING MARGINAL CHANGES IN THE QUALITY OF AN ENVIRONMENTAL ASSET
We present a model that extends the replacement cost theory to cases where benefits are restored for multiple years. Our theoretical framework derives a functional relationship between investments expenditures and environmental benefits. By extending the investment framework, we model reservoir benefits as a function of marginal changes in soil erosion.Environmental Economics and Policy,
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Sedimentary and environmental characteristics of the Gilan-Mazenderan plain, northern Iran: Influence of long- and short-term Caspian water level fluctuations on geomorphology
The south-southwestern Caspian coastal lowland in Iran, or the Gilan-Mazenderan plain, is a relatively narrow but long, composite depositional area of late Quaternary age. The Sefid Rud delta, the Anzali Lake (connected to the Caspian Sea by a meandering outlet 3.5 km long) and storm-dominated beaches are its prominent sedimentary features. They are controlled by the present water level of the Caspian Sea at -26.36 m in 2000. The Late Pleistocene-Holocene deposits of the lowland, which are covered commonly by a modern loess-origin soil, mainly consist of alternations of marine and non-marine sediments. The marine units form coastal terraces at 19-20 m (I), 2-0 m (II) and –6/-8 m (III) corresponing to the Late Khvalinian and Neocaspian transgressions. The deposits of the youngest terrace (terrace III) that represents a prograding beach-ridge complex are a consequence of several medium-term, cyclic water level oscillations in Late Holocene. Just after the initiation of the beach-ridge complex, Lake Anzali formed by damming of rivers and then by progradation of the complex in time forced to form the outlet of the lake. The nearest medium-term cycle lasted c. 65 years between 1930-1995 and the records showed that it included a lot of short-term (c. 4-5 yrs) and very short-term (week to months) water level oscillations. During the last erratic rise of sea level (1977-1996), the area of Lake Anzali doubled; the delta and the coastal sands including modern beaches were eroded on c. 30-100 m. Overall, a step-like morphology, repetition of marine and non-marine facies and also water level records of the last 75 years indicate that the ancient and recent deposition on the coastal lowland has been controlled by long- medium- and short-term fluctuations of the Caspian Sea level
Economic Valuation of Environmental Benefits and the Targeting of Conservation Programs: The Case of the CRP
The range of environmental problems confronting agriculture has expanded in recent years. As the largest program designed to mitigate the negative environmental effects of agriculture, the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) has broadened its initial focus on reductions in soil erosion to consider other landscape factors that may also be beneficial. For example, preserving habitats can help protect wildlife, thus leading to more nature-viewing opportunities. This report demonstrates how nonmarket valuation models can be used in targeting conservation programs such as the CRP.Environmental Economics and Policy,
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