Land use is one of the leading factors that cause environmental degradation, such as water pollution, open space contraction and habitat loss. This dissertation consists of three essays. First paper investigates the relationship between land use and water pollution. Combining land use choice model and water pollution data, I simulate...
The Endangered Species Act is hailed as the “gold standard” of species conservation legislation both in the U.S. and globally. There are scarce conservation funds that we as a society can spend on the recovery of endangered species, so it is important to understand how the parties involved with this...
Water temperature is an important measure of water quality, as well as a dominant factor affecting aquatic life within the stream environment. Elevated water temperatures can decrease the survival rate of fish in each life stage. Cold water species, such as salmonids, are particularly susceptible to elevated water temperatures. For...
Managing agricultural diversity ensures a range of public services, such as genetic resource diversity, food security for subsistence-based economies, and landscape resilience in the context of climate change, among others. These agrobiodiversity conservation services are positive externalities from agrobiodiversity conservation. Whereas their value is not captured in market transactions, management...
Studies that have examined watershed groups have lacked the analysis of an empirical national data set to account for the factors that affect watershed groups growth and variation. This has made it difficult to assume any particular relationship between the presence of watershed groups and any environmental, social or political...
This dissertation consists of three essays on private landowners' response to incentives for carbon sequestration in forests. The first essay examines private landowner response to incentives for carbon sequestration through various combinations of intermediate management practices. The second essay focuses on agricultural landowners' willingness to participate in an incentive program...
Regression analysis was used to examine the effect of a change in agricultural prices on land use and conservation. The planted acreage for each of three crops – corn, soybeans, and spring wheat – was regressed on the expected prices of the three crops,
the input prices, and past land...
Natural resources play a crucial role in human society by providing both market value and non-market value. Effective management of these resources is necessary to achieve a balance between economic value and other non-market benefits. Econometric studies focusing on natural resource management help us understand the costs and benefits of...