Citation:

Sampat, A., A. Hicks, G. Ruiz-Mercado, AND V. Zavala. Valuing economic impact reductions of nutrient pollution from livestock waste. Resources, Conservation and Recycling. Elsevier Science BV, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 164:105199, (2021). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2020.105199

Impact/Purpose:

Applying in-excess nutrients to croplands having legacy phosphorus in soils and there is either rain or snowmelt following the application, the nutrients runoff to waterbodies resulting in undesired ecosystem responses such as excessive growth of algae. In this work, we supply a computational framework to use models that link the change in water clarity (caused by an increase in TP concentration) with socio-economic impacts. We show the importance of estimating these economic impacts through a case study for the coordinated management of livestock waste in the upper Yahara watershed region (WI). We see that incorporating an economic cost for excess P in the affected watershed region can provide a driving force for waste processing, help in balancing P in the region, and achieve nutrient pollution reduction targets in an environmentally and economically sustainable manner. The proposed framework can help state, tribes, and federal regulatory agencies develop regulatory and non-regulatory policies to mitigate the impacts of nutrient pollution.

Description:

Nutrient pollution from livestock waste impacts both fresh and marine coastal waters. Harmful algae blooms (HABs) are a common ecosystem-level response to such pollution that is detrimental to both aquatic life and human health and that generates economic losses (e.g., property values and lost tourism). Waste treatment and management technologies are not well established practices due, in part, to the difficulty to attribute economic value to associated social and environmental impacts of nutrient pollution. In this work, we propose a computational framework to quantify the economic impacts of HABs. We demonstrate the advantage of quantifying these impacts through a case study on livestock waste management in the Upper Yahara watershed region (in the state of Wisconsin, USA).

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