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Groffman PM, Suchy AK, Locke DH, Johnston RJ, Newburn DA, Gold AJ, Band LE, Duncan J, Grove JM, Kao-Kniffin J, Meltzer H, Ndebele T, O’Neil-Dunne J, Polsky C, Thompson GL, Wang H, Zawojska E. Hydro-bio-geo-socio-chemical interactions and the sustainability of residential landscapes. PNAS Nexus 2023; 2:pgad316. [PMID: 37854707 PMCID: PMC10581338 DOI: 10.1093/pnasnexus/pgad316] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2023] [Accepted: 09/19/2023] [Indexed: 10/20/2023]
Abstract
Residential landscapes are essential to the sustainability of large areas of the United States. However, spatial and temporal variation across multiple domains complicates developing policies to balance these systems' environmental, economic, and equity dimensions. We conducted multidisciplinary studies in the Baltimore, MD, USA, metropolitan area to identify locations (hotspots) or times (hot moments) with a disproportionate influence on nitrogen export, a widespread environmental concern. Results showed high variation in the inherent vulnerability/sensitivity of individual parcels to cause environmental damage and in the knowledge and practices of individual managers. To the extent that hotspots are the result of management choices by homeowners, there are straightforward approaches to improve outcomes, e.g. fertilizer restrictions and incentives to reduce fertilizer use. If, however, hotspots arise from the configuration and inherent characteristics of parcels and neighborhoods, efforts to improve outcomes may involve more intensive and complex interventions, such as conversion to alternative ecosystem types.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter M Groffman
- Advanced Science Research Center at the Graduate Center, City University of NewYork, New York, NY 10031, USA
| | - Amanda K Suchy
- Institute for Great Lakes Research and Biology Department, Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, MI 48858, USA
| | - Dexter H Locke
- USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station, Baltimore Field Station, Baltimore, MD 21228, USA
| | - Robert J Johnston
- George Perkins Marsh Institute, Clark University, Worcester, MA 01610, USA
| | - David A Newburn
- Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| | - Arthur J Gold
- Department of Natural Resources Science, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI 02881, USA
| | - Lawrence E Band
- Department of Environmental Science, and Engineering Systems and Environment, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904, USA
| | - Jonathan Duncan
- Department of Ecosystem Science and Management, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - J Morgan Grove
- USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station, Baltimore Field Station, Baltimore, MD 21228, USA
| | - Jenny Kao-Kniffin
- School of Integrative Plant Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA
| | - Hallee Meltzer
- NOAA National Sea Grant Office, Silver Spring, MD 20910, USA
| | - Tom Ndebele
- George Perkins Marsh Institute, Clark University, Worcester, MA 01610, USA
| | | | - Colin Polsky
- Center for Environmental Studies, Florida Atlantic University, Davie, FL 33314, USA
| | - Grant L Thompson
- Department of Horticulture, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA
| | - Haoluan Wang
- Department of Geography and Sustainable Development, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL 33146, USA
| | - Ewa Zawojska
- Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Warsaw, Warsaw, 00-241, Poland
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Johnston RJ, Moeltner K, Peery S, Ndebele T, Yao Z, Crema S, Wollheim WM, Besedin E. Spatial dimensions of water quality value in New England river networks. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2120255119. [PMID: 37094143 PMCID: PMC10160974 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2120255119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Households' willingness to pay (WTP) for water quality improvements-representing their economic value-depends on where improvements occur. Households often hold higher values for improvements close to their homes or iconic areas. Are there other areas where improvements might hold high value to individual households, do effects on WTP vary by type of improvement, and can these areas be identified even if they are not anticipated by researchers? To answer these questions, we integrated a water quality model and map-based, interactive choice experiment to estimate households' WTP for water quality improvements throughout a river network covering six New England states. The choice experiment was implemented using a push-to-web survey over a sample of New England households. Voting scenarios used to elicit WTP included interactive geographic information system (GIS) maps that illustrated three water quality measures at various zoom levels across the study domain. We captured data on how respondents maneuvered through these maps prior to answering the value-eliciting questions. Results show that WTP was influenced by regionwide quality improvements and improvements surrounding each respondent's home, as anticipated, but also by improvements in individualized locations identifiable via each respondent's map interactions. These spatial WTP variations only appear for low-quality rivers and are focused around particular areas of New England. The study shows that dynamic map interactions can convey salient information for WTP estimation and that predicting spatial WTP heterogeneity based primarily on home or iconic locations, as typically done, may overlook areas where water quality has high value.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert J Johnston
- George Perkins Marsh Institute, Clark University, Worcester, MA 01610
| | - Klaus Moeltner
- Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061
| | - Seth Peery
- Enterprise GIS, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061
| | - Tom Ndebele
- George Perkins Marsh Institute, Clark University, Worcester, MA 01610
| | - Zhenyu Yao
- Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061
| | | | - Wilfred M Wollheim
- Department of Natural Resources & the Environment, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH 03824
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