ECONOMIC VALUATION OF RIPARIAN BUFFER AND OPEN SPACE IN A SUBURBAN WATERSHED1

Abstract: This study evaluates the economic value of riparian buffers and open space in a suburban watershed through two nonmarket valuation methods. A contingent valuation survey was implemented in the Dardenne Creek watershed, a suburban watershed of the St. Louis metropolitan area in Missouri, to evaluate the residents' perceptions of and willingness to pay (WTP) for adopting riparian buffers and preserving farmland in a hypothetical real estate market. A hedonic pricing model based on actual sale prices of homes in the watershed was applied to estimate the market value of open space and other environmental conditions such as flood zone and stream proximity in the study area. The results showed that residents' WTP was consistent with the economic values of open space and proximity to streams embedded in existing home prices. Through a better understanding of residents' perceptions and values, riparian buffer and open space programs can be designed and promoted to achieve greater implementation success and environmental benefit.     

Mine capacity and mineral price

The loss of foreign mineral supplies may affect domestic supply and price. To investigate the assumption that prices, a simple mine investment model that relates mine capacity to deposit attributes is used. A test of the model to see how well it approximates industry investment practice illustrates its accuracy. The model suggests that price changes can substantially affect the optimal capacity of planned or existing mines as well as the mineral supply in the USA.     

RESIDENTIAL WATER DEMAND: A POOLED,TIME SERIES,CROSS SECTION STUDY OF MALMÖ, SWEDEN1

Shortcoming associated with past water demand studies are evaluated. To overcome these shortcomings, pooled, time series, cross section data from -6, Sweden, are used in an ordinary Least squares analysis to estimate the demand for residential water. Elasticities for five variables, including price and income, are estimated. An approach for the conduct of future water demand studies is suggested.     

长江中游地区水资源产业化开发研究

长江中游地区对丰富的水资源进行产业化开发可实现振兴经济的目的,其中售水、水电、水运、水域农业和水上旅游业是主要开发领域。水资源产业化开发的利益关系由合理的收费与价格体系进行协调。     

环境补偿费的征收与转嫁

运用经济学基本原理分析了征收环境补偿费的理论依据,论述了在征收过程中可能对物价带来的影响以及环境补偿的转嫁问题。征收环境补偿是解决环境问题,实现可持续发展的重要手段。     

农地开发整理新增耕地价格评估

有序的农地流转市场需要有价格体系支持.以国家投资的一个重点农地整理项目为例,探讨了农地整理新增耕地价格的内涵、特点、价格评估的必要性、原则和估价方法的选择,并运用成本法评估了新增耕地的价格,旨在为目前我国全面开展的农地开发整理新增耕地入市价格评估提供实践依据.     

GIS技术在土地资源估价中的应用分析

本文主要分析了GIS技术的功能、概念、发展及基于该技术的土地估价信息系统的组成、功能和优越性。为土地估价提供了强有力的技术支持和科学依据     

城市规划区农用地价格评估的实证研究--以江苏泰兴市为例

城市规划区农用地价格的评估既不同于城市建成区各类用地价格评估，也不同于基本农田保护区的农用地的价格评估，是农用地价格评估中的热点和难点，其区别于其他土地评估的特点主要表现在：一是城市规划区农用地价格是一种农用地转用价格，其实质是农用地所有权价格；二是城市规划区农用地用途将发生变更；三是城市规划区农用地存在着预期收益及其收益年限问题。在此基础上，以江苏泰兴市为例，对城市规划区农用地价格的评估思路进行了探讨，思路之一是运用投入产出法将城市规划区农用地的未来预期净收益还原为无限年期的所有权价格；思路之二是运用假设开发法求取“剩余之数、即为地价；思路之三是运用征购价格法从农用地价格构成角度探讨了规划区农用地的价格，并对三种估价思路及其估价结果进行了比较分析。     

Exploring price effects on the residential water conservation technology diffusion process: a case study of Tianjin city

Reforms of the water pricing management system and the establishment of a flexible water pricing system are significant for cities in northern China to tackle their critical water issues. The WATAP (Water conservation Technology Adoption Processes) model is developed in order to capture the water conservation technology adoption process under different price scenarios with disaggregate water demands down to the end use level. This model is explicitly characterized by the technological selection process under maximum marginal benefit assumption by different categories of households. In particular, when households need to purchase water devices in the provision market with the consideration of complex factors such as the life span, investment and operating costs of the device, as well as the regulated water price by the government. Applied to Tianjin city, four scenarios of water price evolutions for a long-term perspective (from year 2011 to 2030) are considered, including BAU (Business As Usual), SP1 (Scenario of Price increase with constant annual rate), SP2 (Scenario of Price increase every four years) and SP3 (Scenario of Price increase with affordable constraint), considering many factors such as historic trends, affordability and incentives for conservation. Results show that on aggregate 2.3%, 11.0% and 18.2% of fresh water can be saved in the residential sector in scenario SP1, SP2 and SP3, respectively, compared with the BAU scenario in the year 2030. The water price signals can change the market shares of different water appliances, as well as the water end use structure of households, and ultimately improve water use efficiency. TheWATAP model may potentially be a helpful tool to provide insights for policy makers on water conservation technology policy analysis and assessment.     

Modelling the outcrossing between genetically modified and conventional maize with equation discovery

Many studies explore the feasibility of co-existence between genetically modified (GM) and conventional (non-GM) crops. An important research topic in these studies is the process of outcrossing, i.e., the process of gene flow via pollen flow from GM to non-GM crops. In this paper, we address a new modelling approach to define the environmentally driven processes of outcrossing for maize from existing empirical datasets. In particular, we use equation discovery methodology that combines background knowledge and empirical data from several studies. We induce models that predict the degree of outcrossing rate between the donor (GM) and the recipient (non-GM) maize field from the distance between the fields and the local wind characteristics (speed, direction and duration). This results in highly accurate models, for which both variables (distance and wind) are essential and of roughly equal importance.