Precision conservation: A geospatial decision support tool for optimizing conservation and profitability in agricultural landscapes

Abstract

Abstract:The USDA Farm Bill conservation programs provide landowner incentives to remove less productive and environmentally sensitive lands from agricultural production and reestablish them in natural vegetation (e.g., native grasses, trees, etc.) to achieve conservation objectives. However, removal of arable land from production imposes an opportunity cost associated with loss in revenue from commodities that otherwise would have been produced. Recent Farm Bills have increasingly emphasized targeted practices to achieve specific environmental outcomes that maximize environmental benefits relative to cost. The Habitat Buffers for Upland Birds practice (CP-33) under the continuous Conservation Reserve Program is an example of a targeted conservation practice that has produced measureable outcomes (increased bobwhite and grassland bird populations) with relatively minor changes in primary land use. However, establishing conservation buffers on profitable farmland may be incompatible with the economic objectives of landowners/producers. Precision agriculture technologies provide a powerful conservation planning tool for identifying environmental and economic opportunities in agricultural systems. Precision implementation of conservation practices, such as CP-33, is the foundation of strategic conservation planning and is essential for optimization of environmental and economic benefits. Toward this end, we developed a geospatial decision support tool (Arc GIS tool) to inform this decision-making process. We illustrate the geoprocessing workflow of the tool and demonstrate the conditions under which precision implementation of conservation practices can concomitantly increase whole-field profitability and environmental services for an example farm in Mississippi.

Targeted subfield switchgrass integration could improve the farm economy, water quality, and bioenergy feedstock production

“…In contrast to annual crops, perennial plants have more extensive root systems that intercept water and N for a larger portion of the year (e.g., Voigt et al, 2012). Efforts have been made recently to develop landscape designs that meet agricultural needs while mitigating environmental risk through targeted placement of conservation management practices (McConnell & Burger, 2011;Chaplin-Kramer et al, 2016). This precision conservation approach can potentially include perennial crops for sustainable cellulosic bioenergy production (Bonner et al, 2016;Chaubey et al, 2016).…”

Private lands conservation: A vision for the future

“…Conservation design can be particularly effective on private lands because spatially explicit priorities often align to enhance environmental goods and services and have collateral benefits to landowners. An example of conservation design aligning with economic objectives can be found in the concept of precision conservation, whereby an agricultural producer incorporates agricultural yield information into economic decisions regarding incentive program enrollments on economically less‐profitable lands such as field margins and wet depressions (McConnell and Burger , Tomer et al ). These landscape components often provide key environmental services such as trapping sediment and nutrients, as well as restoration of native ecosystems into the agricultural matrix.…”

“…Maintenance of lower basal area over a rotation may produce lower land‐expectation values, resulting in opportunity costs (Huang , Davis et al ). Similarly, in agricultural systems, restoration of natural plant communities requires removing land from production, which imposes opportunity costs from commodities that would have been produced (McConnell and Burger ). Restoring ecosystem function to rangelands and pastures by converting exotic forage grass (bermudagrass [ Cynodon dactylon ], tall fescue [ Schedonorus arundinaceus ], Bahiagrass [ Paspalum notatum ]) to native warm‐season grass also requires technical expertise and foregone revenue during the conversion period (Monroe et al ).…”

Development of integrated bioenergy production systems using precision conservation and multicriteria decision analysis techniques

“…The core principles of precision conservation lend themselves well to providing the data and conceptual environment necessary for MCDA of integrated landscapes. Furthermore, when precision conservation plans are coupled with site-specific economics, the lost opportunity cost resulting from displacement of agricultural production with conservation practices can be estimated, better informing land managers about the costs and benefits of alternative land uses (Kitchen et al 2005;McConnell and Burger 2011;Muth 2014). While most conservation practices do not generate direct annual revenue for the farmer and instead result in off-site and societal benefits, production of perennial energy crops such as switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) on marginal portions of agricultural fields has the potential to produce large quantities of marketable biomass feedstock while also protecting soil and water resources and enhancing biodiversity (Bonner et al 2014a;Heaton et al 2010;Robertson et al 2010;Werling et al 2014).…”