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Modeling the Economics of Biodiversity and Environmental Heterogeneity

Environmental and Resource Economics volume 46, pages 43–58 (2010)Cite this article

Abstract

It has long been recognized that major drivers of biodiversity loss include both the harvest of wild species and the conversion of habitat for productive purposes. Land that is converted may or may not be lost as habitat for many species. In some cases, monoculture production for example, land conversion reduces the number niches and hence the level of biodiversity. In other cases, it has the opposite effect. We address the problem of anthropogenic biodiversity change due to the effects of both harvest rates and land use decisions on landscape heterogeneity. If the optimal structure of the landscape is extremely homogeneous, forces of competitive exclusion will lead to a single surviving species. If it is extremely heterogeneous, multiple species will coexist, with each species exclusively dominating the patch type to which it is best suited. Where changes in biodiversity due to changes in landscape heterogeneity are not taken into account in land use decisions, they are external effects of those decisions. We identify measures of these effects.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Economics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1180 Observatory Drive, Madison, WI, 53706, USA

    William Brock

  2. School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, PO Box 874501, Tempe, AZ, 85287, USA

    Ann Kinzig & Charles Perrings

Authors
  1. William Brock
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  2. Ann Kinzig
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  3. Charles Perrings
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Correspondence to Charles Perrings.

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Brock, W., Kinzig, A. & Perrings, C. Modeling the Economics of Biodiversity and Environmental Heterogeneity. Environ Resource Econ 46, 43–58 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10640-009-9333-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10640-009-9333-1

Keywords

  • Biodiversity
  • Environmental heterogeneity
  • Externality

JEL Classification

  • Q21