Building an economically sustainable restoration and monitoring plan for forested watersheds in Northern Arizona

本研究将流域和森林管理指标与生态经济学联系起来，设计了一个概念模型，用于流域服务市场，以抵消北方亚利桑那州黄松林大规模生态恢复的成本。本研究的目的是发展的基础上，创新市场的分水岭服务提供的林务局在北方亚利桑那州。森林恢复的预期效益包括：（1）提高水质和水量;（2）减少灾难性火灾对现有流域服务的威胁;（3）降低气候变化对水量的不确定性。一个成功的水市场，下游利益相关者支付流域管理的好处，将支持维护，监测和恢复森林健康，同时也提供可持续的水资源。 该项目具有直接的重要性，为社会在了解社会的意愿，支付生态系统服务，从森林恢复在美国西南部的半干旱地区的研究很少存在连接经济价值的分水岭服务在美国西南部，一个地区：1）水资源的保护和优化对人口的增长至关重要，2）过度生长的森林黄松流域退化，需要生态恢复，3）干旱和气候变暖的加剧进一步加剧了对流域服务的威胁。如果成功，该项目中确定的生态系统服务和应用的付款将转移到整个美国西南部数百万英亩的森林。

This research links watershed and forest management metrics with ecological economics to devise a conceptual model for a watershed services market that offsets costs of large-scale ecological restoration of forested ponderosa pine forest in Northern Arizona. The purpose of this study is to develop the basis for an innovative market for watershed services provided by the Forest Service in Northern Arizona. Projected benefits of forest restoration include 1) increased water quality and quantity, 2) reduced threats to existing watershed services from catastrophic fires, and 3) lowered uncertainty for water yield for climate change. A successful water market with downstream stakeholders paying for watershed management benefits would support the maintenance, monitoring, and restoration of forest health while also providing sustainable water resources. This project has direct importance for society in terms of understanding society's willingness to pay for ecosystem services that result from forest restoration in the semi-arid Southwestern U.S. Little research exists connecting economic valuation to watershed services in the Southwestern United States, an area where: 1) water conservation and optimization are essential for expanding populations, 2) overgrown forested Ponderosa pine watersheds are degraded and in need of ecological restoration, and 3) increasing droughts and a warming climate further exacerbate threats to watershed services. If successful, the payments for ecosystems services and applications identified in this project will be transferred to millions of acres of forests in the entire Southwestern United States.