Environmental Effects of Agricultural Land-Use Change: The Role of Economics and Policy

Ruben N. Lubowski , Shawn Bucholtz , Roger Claassen ; Michael Roberts , Joseph Cooper ; Anna Gueorguieva , and Robert Johansson

United States Department of Agriculture

关键词: Conservation Reserve Program (CRP);    crop insurance;    erosion;    extensive margin;    farm policy;    imperiled species;    land use;    land-use change;    land quality;    nutrient loss;    soil productivity;   

RP-ID  :  ERR-25

学科分类：农业科学（综合）

美国|英语

来源: United States Department of Agriculture Publications

【 摘 要 】

This report examines evidence on the relationship between agricultural land-use changes, soil productivity, and indicators of environmental sensitivity. If cropland that shifts in and out of production is less productive and more environmentally sensitive than other cropland, policy-induced changes in land use could have production effects that are smaller-and environmental impacts that are greater-than anticipated. To illustrate this possibility, this report examines environmental outcomes stemming from land-use conversion caused by two agricultural programs that others have identified as potentially having important influences on land use and environmental quality: Federal crop insurance subsidies and the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), the Nation's largest cropland retirement program.