Open AccessSpatial asynchrony in environmental and economic benefits of stream restoration
Author(s) -
Ruoyu Zhang,
David A. Newburn,
Andrew B. Rosenberg,
Laurence Lin,
P. M. Groffman,
J. M. Duncan,
Lawrence E. Band
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
environmental research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.37
H-Index - 124
ISSN - 1748-9326
DOI - 10.1088/1748-9326/ac61c6
Subject(s) - stream restoration , watershed , environmental science , riparian zone , urban stream , recreation , restoration ecology , environmental resource management , water resource management , natural resource economics , water quality , habitat , ecology , computer science , economics , machine learning , biology
Stream restoration is widely used to mitigate the degradation of urban stream channels, protect infrastructure, and reduce sediment and nutrient loadings to receiving waterbodies. Stabilizing and revegetating riparian areas can also provide recreational opportunities and amenities, and improve quality of life for nearby residents. In this project, we developed indices of an environmental benefit (potential nitrate load reduction, a priority in the Chesapeake Bay watershed) and economic benefit (household willingness to pay, WTP) of stream restoration for all low order stream reaches in three main watersheds in the Baltimore metro region. We found spatial asynchrony of these benefits such that their spatial patterns were negatively correlated. Stream restoration in denser urban, less wealthy neighborhoods have high WTP, but low potential nitrate load reduction, while suburban and exurban, wealthy neighborhoods have the reverse trend. The spatial asynchrony raises challenges for decision makers to balance economic efficiency, social equity, and specific environmental goals of stream restoration programs.