Independent Researcher Lincoln, Nebraska, United States
Background/Question/Methods
Early adoption of conservation strategies is critical to prevent invasive and woody plants from spreading under the conservation stewardship program (CSP). We estimated and compared expected conservation cost savings of the early adoption of conservation strategies in five US states (Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, and South Dakota). Using conservation practice payment data, we employed an expected value-based decision tree analysis model to estimate expected cost savings of the early adoption of conservation strategies. Average conservation costs of mulching, brush management, and prescribed burning and the tree cover gap between reference and comparison years were used to calculate the expected cost savings. A multilevel logistic regression model was also estimated to determine the association between tree cover gap and expected cost savings.
Results/Conclusions
The average tree cover gap between reference (2016) and comparison (2017) years was 2.30 acres per 1,000 acres of grassland area. Decision tree analysis found that the early adoption of mulching, brush management, and prescribed burning can produce savings of $30 for prescribed burning, $172 for brush management, and $280 for mulching per 1,000 acres of grassland. From the regression results, we also found a positive association between expected cost savings and tree cover gap (coef. = 97.4, p < 0.00); and interstate variability in conservation costs. Early adoption of conservation strategies can generate expected cost savings for conserving grazing lands from invasive and woody plants under CSPs in the United States.
