An interdisciplinary approach to valuing water from brush control

TR Number

Date

2002

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Herndon, Va.: Water Resources Association

Abstract

This paper develops an integrated model to assess the viability of increasing water yields in the Frio River basin of Texas through brush control. The presented method accounts for the effect of brush control on forage productivity and water supply by incorporating ecological, hydrologic, and economic models. The simulation of water yields suggests that brush control would increase water yields on 35% of the land area, but the costs usually would exceed the financial benefits. The authors conclude that subsidizing brush control in the Frio basin is not a cost-effective policy at this time.

Description

Metadata only record

Keywords

Economic analyses, Economic policy, Range management, Government policy, Ranching, Water, Modeling, Rangelands, Economic modeling and analysis, Cost sharing, Economic impacts, Water use, Livestock, Municipal water supply, Interbasin transfers, Woody plants, Brush control, Water yields, Value of water, Case studies, Water costs, Economic benefits, SWAT (Soil and Water Assessment Tool), Phytomass growth simulator (phygrow), Range site economic model, Texas, Nueces river, Frio river, Lake texana, Corpus christi, Atascosa river, Choke canyon reservoir, Lake corpus christi reservoir, Farm/Enterprise Scale Governance Watershed

Citation

Journal of American Water Resources Association 38(2): 409-422 AWRA Paper Number 01079