Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

The Impact of Land-Use Change on Ecosystem Services, Biodiversity and Returns to Landowners: A Case Study in the State of Minnesota

  • Published:
Environmental and Resource Economics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Land-use change has a significant impact on the world’s ecosystems. Changes in the extent and composition of forests, grasslands, wetlands and other ecosystems have large impacts on the provision of ecosystem services, biodiversity conservation and returns to landowners. While the change in private returns to landowners due to land-use change can often be measured, changes in the supply and value of ecosystem services and the provision of biodiversity conservation have been harder to quantify. In this paper we use a spatially explicit integrated modeling tool (InVEST) to quantify the changes in ecosystem services, habitat for biodiversity, and returns to landowners from land-use change in Minnesota from 1992 to 2001. We evaluate the impact of actual land-use change and a suite of alternative land-use change scenarios. We find a lack of concordance in the ranking of baseline and alternative land-use scenarios in terms of generation of private returns to landowners and net social benefits (private returns plus ecosystem service value). Returns to landowners are highest in a scenario with large-scale agricultural expansion. This scenario, however, generated the lowest net social benefits across all scenarios considered because of large losses in stored carbon and negative impacts on water quality. Further, this scenario resulted in the largest decline in habitat quality for general terrestrial biodiversity and forest songbirds. Our results illustrate the importance of taking ecosystem services into account in land-use and land-management decision-making and linking such decisions to incentives that accurately reflect social returns.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Andam KS, Ferraro PJ, Pfaff A, Sanchez-Azofeifa GA, Robalino J (2008) Measuring the effectiveness of protected area networks in reducing deforestation. Proc Natl Acad Sci 105(42): 16089–16094

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Angelsen, A (eds) (2008) Moving ahead with REDD: issues, options and implications. CIFOR, Bogor

    Google Scholar 

  • Balmford A, Bruner A, Cooper P, Costanza R, Farber S, Green R, Jenkins M, Jefferiss P, Jessamay V, Madden J, Munro K, Myers N, Naeem S, Paavola J, Rayment M, Rosendo S, Roughgarden J, Trumper K, Turner RK (2002) Economic reasons for conserving wild nature. Science 297: 950–953

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Biggs R, Carpenter SR, Brock WA (2009) Turning back from the brink: detecting an impending regime shift in time to avert it. Proc Natl Acad Sci 106: 826–831

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boody G, Vondracek B, Andow DA, Krinke M, Westra J, Zimmerman J, Welle P (2005) Multifunctional agriculture in the United States. BioScience 55: 27–38

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Canadell JG, Raupach MR (2008) Managing forests for climate change mitigation. Science 320: 1456–1457

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carpenter SR, Caraco NF, Correll DL, Howarth RW, Sharpley AN, Smith VH (1998) Nonpoint pollution of surface waters with phosphorus and nitrogen. Ecol Appl 8(3): 559–568

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Champ P, Boyle KJ, Brown TC (2003) A primer on nonmarket valuation. Kluwer, Boston

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Chan KMA, Shaw MR, Cameron DR, Underwood EC, Daily GC (2006) Conservation planning for ecosystem services. PLoS Biol 4: e379

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Daily G (1997) Nature’s services: societal dependence on natural ecosystems. Island Press, Washington

    Google Scholar 

  • Daily G, Polasky S, Goldstein J, Kareiva PM, Mooney HA, Pejchar L, Ricketts TH, Salzman J, Shallenberger R (2009) Ecosystem services in decision-making: time to deliver. Front Ecol Environ 7(1): 21–28

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Delin GN, Falteisek JD (2007) Ground-water recharge in Minnesota: U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 2007–3002, 6 p

  • Egoh B, Reyers B, Rouget M, Richardson DM, Le Maitre DC, van Jaarsveld AS (2008) Mapping ecosystem services for planning and management. Agric Ecosyst Environ 127(1–2): 135–140

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ehrlich PR, Dobkin DS, Wheye D (1988) Birder’s handbook: a field guide to the natural history of North American birds. Simon and Schuster, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Farm Business Management, Annual Report for the Southwest, Southcentral, Southeast, West, Northwest, and Northeast Regions. 1992–2001. Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, Minnesota Riverland Community College, University of Minnesota, Division of Agricultural Education

  • Forman R (1995) Land mosaics: the ecology of landscapes and regions. Cambridge University Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Forman R (2003) Road ecology: science and solutions. Island Press, Washington

    Google Scholar 

  • Freeman AM III (2003) The measurement of environmental and resource values: theory and methods, 2nd edn. Resources for the Future, Washington

    Google Scholar 

  • Fry JA, Coan MJ, Homer CG, Meyer DK, Wickham JD (2009) Completion of the National Land Cover Database (NLCD) 1992–2001 Land Cover Change Retrofit product. U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2008–1379

  • Hill J, Polasky S, Nelson E, Tilman D, Huo H, Ludwig L, Neumann J, Zheng H, Bonta D (2009) Climate change and health costs of air emissions from biofuels and gasoline. Proc Natl Acad Sci 106(6): 2077–2082

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jack BK, Kousky C, Sims KRE (2008) Designing payments for ecosystem services: lessons from previous experience with incentive-based mechanisms. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 105: 9465–9470

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jackson RB, Jobbagy EG, Avissar R, Roy SB, Barrett DJ, Cook CW, Farley KA, le Maitre DC, McCarl BA, Murray BC (2005) Trading water for carbon with biological sequestration. Science 310: 1944–1947

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Keeney R, Hertel TW (2009) The indirect land use impacts of United States biofuel policies: the importance of acreage, yield, and bilateral trade responses. Am J Agric Econ 91(4): 895–909

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kindermann GE, Obersteiner M, Sohngen B, Sathaye J, Andrasko K, Rametsteiner E, Schlamadinger B, Wunder S, Beach R (2008) Global cost estimates of reducing carbon emissions through avoided deforestation. Proc Natl Acad Sci 105(30): 10302–10307

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lewis DJ, Plantinga AJ, Nelson E, Polasky S (2010) The efficiency of voluntary incentive policies for preventing biodiversity loss. Resource and Energy Economics (in press)

  • Lindenmayer D, Hobbs R, Montague-Drake R, Alexandra J, Bennett A, Burgman M, Cae P, Calhoun A, Cramer V, Cullen P (2008) A checklist for ecological management of landscapes for conservation. Ecol Lett 11: 78–91

    Google Scholar 

  • Lubowski RN (2002) Determinants of land-use transitions in the United States: econometric analysis of changes among the major land-use categories. Ph.D. Dissertation, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA

  • Lubowski RN, Plantinga AJ, Stavins RN (2006) Land-use change and carbon sinks: econometric estimation of the carbon sequestration supply function. J Environ Econ Manage 51: 135–152

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lubowski RN, Plantinga AJ, Stavins RN (2008) What drives land-use change in the United States? A national analysis of landowner decisions. Land Econ 84(4): 529–550

    Google Scholar 

  • Mathews LG, Homans FR, Easter KW (2002) Estimating the benefits of phosphorus pollution reductions: an application in the Minnesota River. J Am Water Res Assoc 38(5): 1217–1223

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McKinney ML (2002) Urbanization, biodiversity, and conservation. BioScience 52: 883–890

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA): (2005) Ecosystems and human well-being synthesis. Island Press, Washington DC

    Google Scholar 

  • Minnesota Department of Commerce (2007) Minnesota’s Next Generation Energy Initiative. Accessed at http://www.state.mn.us/mn/externalDocs/Commerce/SummaryNext_Generation_Energy_Initiative_100807041804_MEP2.pdf on May 17, 2010

  • Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) (2004) Detailed assessment of phosphorus to Minnesota watersheds. Prepared by Barr Engineering Company for the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency

  • Naidoo R, Balmford A, Costanza R, Fisher B, Green RE, Lehner B, Malcolm TR, Ricketts TH (2008) Global mapping of ecosystem services and conservation priorities. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 105: 9495–9500

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Naidoo R, Balmford A, Ferraro PJ, Polasky S, Ricketts TH, Rouget M (2006) Integrating economic cost into conservation planning. Trends Ecol Evol 21(12): 681–687

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Naidoo R, Ricketts TH (2006) Mapping the economic costs and benefits of conservation. PLoS Biol 4: e360

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • National Research Council (NRC): (2005) Valuing ecosystem services: toward better environmental decision-making. National Academy Press, Washington

    Google Scholar 

  • Nelson E, Mendoza G, Regetz J, Polasky S, Tallis H, Cameron DR, Chan KMA, Daily G, Goldstein J, Kareiva P, Lonsdorf E, Naidoo R, Ricketts TH, Shaw MR (2009) Modeling multiple ecosystem services, biodiversity conservation, commodity production, and tradeoffs at landscape scales. Front Ecol Environ 7(1): 4–11

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nelson E, Polasky S, Lewis DJ, Plantinga AJ, Lonsdorf E, White D, Bael D, Lawler JJ (2008) Efficiency of incentives to jointly increase carbon sequestration and species conservation on a landscape. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 105(28): 9471–9476

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parkhurst GM, Shogren JF (2007) Spatial incentives to coordinate contiguous habitat. Ecol Econ 64(2): 344–355

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parkhurst GM, Shogren JF, Bastian C, Kivi P, Donner J, Smith RBW (2002) Agglomeration bonus: an incentive mechanism to reunite fragmented habitat for biodiversity conservation. Ecol Econ 41: 305–328

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pagiola S, Platais G (2007) Payments for environmental services: from theory to practice. World Bank, Washington

    Google Scholar 

  • Polasky S, Nelson E, Lonsdorf E, Fackler P, Starfield A (2005) Conserving species in a working landscape: land use with biological and economic objectives. Ecol Appl 15(4): 1387–1401

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Polasky S, Nelson E, Camm J, Csuti B, Fackler P, Lonsdorf E, Montgomery C, White D, Arthur J, Garber- Yonts B, Haight R, Kagan J, Starfield A, Tobalske C (2008) Where to put things? Spatial land management to sustain biodiversity and economic returns. Biol Conserv 141(6): 1505–1524

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sánchez-Azofeifa GA, Pfaff A, Robalino JA, Boomhower J (2007) Costa Rica’s payment for environmental services program: intention, implementation, and impact. Conserv Biol 21(5): 1165–1173

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Santelmann M, White D, Freemark K, Nassauer JI, Eilers JM, Vache KB, Danielson BJ, Corry RC, Clark ME, Polasky S, Cruse RM, Sifneos J, Rustigian H, Coiner C, Wu J, Debinski D (2004) Assessing alternative futures for agriculture in the U.S. Corn Belt. Landsc Ecol 19(4): 357–374

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scheffer M, Carpenter SR, Foley JA, Folke C, Walker B (2001) Catastrophic shifts in ecosystems. Nature 413: 591–596

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Searchinger T, Heimlich R, Houghton RA, Dong F, Elobeid A, Fabiosa J, Tokgoz S, Hayes D, Yu T-H (2008) Use of U.S. croplands for biofuels increases greenhouse gases through emissions from land-use change. Science 319: 1238–1240

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Senjem N (2009) Overview of the Lake Pepin—Upper Mississippi River TMDL. Proceedings of TMDL 2009 Conference, Water Environment Federation Specialty Conference. Minneapolis, MN. August 9–12, 2009

  • Swallow BM, Sang JK, Nyabenge M, Bundotich DK, Duraiappah AK, Yatich TB (2009) Tradeoffs, synergies and traps among ecosystem services in the Lake Victoria basin of East Africa. Environ Sci Policy 12: 504–519

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tallis HT, Ricketts T, Ennaanay D, Nelson E, Vigerstol K, Mendoza G, Wolny S, Olwero N, Aukema J, Foster J, Forrest J, Cameron D (2008) InVEST 1.003 beta User’s Guide. The Natural Capital Project, Stanford

  • Tol RSJ (2009) The economic effects of climate change. J Econ Perspect 23(2): 29–51

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Turner RE, Rabalais NN, Justic D (2008) Gulf of Mexico hypoxia: alternate states and a legacy. Environ Sci Technol 42: 2323–2327

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • USDA-NASS (2009) The national agricultural statistics service, United States Department of Agriculture. Quick Stats (ag statistics database). http://www.nass.usda.gov/Data_and_Statistics/Quick_Stats/index.asp

  • USDA-NRSC (2009) Soil survey staff, natural resources conservation service, United States Department of Agriculture. Soil Survey Geographic (SSURGO) Database for Minnesota. http://soildatamart.nrcs.usda.gov

  • Westra JV, Easter KW, Olson KD (2002) Targeting non-point source pollution control: phosphorus in the Minnesota River Basin. J Am Water Resour Assoc 38(2): 493–505

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Stephen Polasky.

Electronic Supplementary Material

The Below is the Electronic Supplementary Material.

ESM 1 (DOCX 236 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Polasky, S., Nelson, E., Pennington, D. et al. The Impact of Land-Use Change on Ecosystem Services, Biodiversity and Returns to Landowners: A Case Study in the State of Minnesota. Environ Resource Econ 48, 219–242 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10640-010-9407-0

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10640-010-9407-0

Keywords

Navigation