What drives long-run biodiversity change? New insights from combining economics, palaeoecology and environmental history

Abstract

This paper presents a new approach to understanding the effects of economic factors on biodiversity change over the long run. We illustrate this approach by studying the determinants of biodiversity change in upland Scotland from 1600-2000. The measure of biodiversity used is a proxy for plant species diversity, constructed using statistical analysis of paleoecological (pollen) data. We assemble a new data set of historical land use and prices over 11 sites during this 400 year period; this data set also includes information on changes in agricultural technology, climate and land ownership. A panel model is then estimated, which controls for both supply and demand shifts over time. A main result is that prices, which act in our model as a proxy for livestock numbers, do indeed impact on biodiversity, with higher prices leading to lower biodiversity.

The effect of decoupling on marginal agricultural systems: Implications for farm incomes, land use and upland ecology

“…Such a prediction is supported by more detailed ecological analyses, where species richness was higher on farms where cattle were grazing (Dallimer et al, ms;Evans et al, 2006). Land abandonment has been shown, historically, to lead on average to a loss of biodiversity in upland grazed systems (Hanley et al, 2008), so that any policy changes which increases abandonment will likely have adverse consequences for biodiversity.…”

Applications of Palaeoecology in Conservation~!2010-03-15~!2010-05-01~!2010-06-22~!

“…A long-term perspective can increase the evidence-base by providing information about the effects of many different forms of agriculture on upland biodiversity, not just modern mechanised, low labour-input farming. Hanley et al (2008Hanley et al ( , 2009 analysed the effects of changes in resource management and associated socio-economic factors on plant diversity in upland Scotland over the last 400 years using an approach that combined palynological Fig. (1).…”

Environmental pollution and biodiversity: Light pollution and sea turtles in the Caribbean

“…Economists are also concerned with similar issues but have tended to concentrate on the design and implementation of conservation policies subject to resource constraints. Examples of different studies on this broader topic include harvesting (Clarks, 1973;Costello et al, 2008), habitat change (Polasky et al, 2004;Hanley et al, 2009), and the general problem of measuring biodiversity (Solow et al, 1993;Weitzman, 1992Weitzman, , 1998. Important related research includes studies on natural capital and sustainability (see Helm and Hepburn, 2014, for a recent survey).…”