Valuing improvements in the ecological integrity of local and regional waters using the biological condition gradient.

ABSTRACT: Scientific knowledge related to quantifying the monetized benefits for landscape-wide water quality improvements does not meet current regulatory and benefit-cost analysis needs in the United States. In this study we addressed this knowledge gap by incorporating the Biological Condition Gradient (BCG) as a water quality metric into a stated preference survey capable of estimating the total economic value (use and nonuse) for aquatic ecosystem improvements. The BCG is grounded in ecological principles and generalizable and transferable across space. Moreover, as the BCG translates available data on biological condition into a score on a 6-point scale, it provides a simple metric that can be readily communicated to the public. We applied our BCG-based survey instrument to households across t

SUBMITTER: Vossler CA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10160978 | biostudies-literature | 2023 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature