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Economic Impacts of Non-Native Forest Insects in the Continental United States

Author

Listed:
  • Juliann E Aukema
  • Brian Leung
  • Kent Kovacs
  • Corey Chivers
  • Kerry O Britton
  • Jeffrey Englin
  • Susan J Frankel
  • Robert G Haight
  • Thomas P Holmes
  • Andrew M Liebhold
  • Deborah G McCullough
  • Betsy Von Holle

Abstract

Reliable estimates of the impacts and costs of biological invasions are critical to developing credible management, trade and regulatory policies. Worldwide, forests and urban trees provide important ecosystem services as well as economic and social benefits, but are threatened by non-native insects. More than 450 non-native forest insects are established in the United States but estimates of broad-scale economic impacts associated with these species are largely unavailable. We developed a novel modeling approach that maximizes the use of available data, accounts for multiple sources of uncertainty, and provides cost estimates for three major feeding guilds of non-native forest insects. For each guild, we calculated the economic damages for five cost categories and we estimated the probability of future introductions of damaging pests. We found that costs are largely borne by homeowners and municipal governments. Wood- and phloem-boring insects are anticipated to cause the largest economic impacts by annually inducing nearly $1.7 billion in local government expenditures and approximately $830 million in lost residential property values. Given observations of new species, there is a 32% chance that another highly destructive borer species will invade the U.S. in the next 10 years. Our damage estimates provide a crucial but previously missing component of cost-benefit analyses to evaluate policies and management options intended to reduce species introductions. The modeling approach we developed is highly flexible and could be similarly employed to estimate damages in other countries or natural resource sectors.

Suggested Citation

  • Juliann E Aukema & Brian Leung & Kent Kovacs & Corey Chivers & Kerry O Britton & Jeffrey Englin & Susan J Frankel & Robert G Haight & Thomas P Holmes & Andrew M Liebhold & Deborah G McCullough & Betsy, 2011. "Economic Impacts of Non-Native Forest Insects in the Continental United States," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 6(9), pages 1-7, September.
  • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0024587
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0024587
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Born, Wanda & Rauschmayer, Felix & Brauer, Ingo, 2005. "Economic evaluation of biological invasions--a survey," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 55(3), pages 321-336, November.
    2. Jeffrey P. Prestemon & Thomas P. Holmes, 2000. "Timber Price Dynamics Following a Natural Catastrophe," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 82(1), pages 145-160.
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    Cited by:

    1. Andrew R. Tilman & Robert G. Haight, 2023. "Public policy for management of forest pests within an ownership mosaic," Papers 2312.05403, arXiv.org.
    2. Yemshanov, Denys & Haight, Robert G. & Koch, Frank H. & Lu, Bo & Venette, Robert & Fournier, Ronald E. & Turgeon, Jean J., 2017. "Robust Surveillance and Control of Invasive Species Using a Scenario Optimization Approach," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 86-98.
    3. Bushaj, Sabah & Büyüktahtakın, İ. Esra & Haight, Robert G., 2022. "Risk-averse multi-stage stochastic optimization for surveillance and operations planning of a forest insect infestation," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 299(3), pages 1094-1110.
    4. Davide Rassati & Massimo Faccoli & Robert A Haack & Robert J Rabaglia & Edoardo Petrucco Toffolo & Andrea Battisti & Lorenzo Marini, 2016. "Bark and Ambrosia Beetles Show Different Invasion Patterns in the USA," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(7), pages 1-17, July.
    5. Jones, Benjamin A., 2023. "Can invasive species lead to sedentary behavior? The time use and obesity impacts of a forest-attacking pest," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    6. Epanchin-Niell, Rebecca S. & Liebhold, Andrew M., 2015. "Benefits of invasion prevention: Effect of time lags, spread rates, and damage persistence," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 146-153.
    7. Eyyüb Y. Kıbış & İ. Esra Büyüktahtakın & Robert G. Haight & Najmaddin Akhundov & Kathleen Knight & Charles E. Flower, 2021. "A Multistage Stochastic Programming Approach to the Optimal Surveillance and Control of the Emerald Ash Borer in Cities," INFORMS Journal on Computing, INFORMS, vol. 33(2), pages 808-834, May.
    8. Hope, Emily S. & McKenney, Daniel W. & Pedlar, John H. & Lawrence, Kevin & MacDonald, Heather, 2021. "Canadian efforts to slow the spread of Emerald Ash Borer (Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire) are economically efficient," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).
    9. Delgado Castillo, Ángela & van den Bergh, Jeroen C.J.M. & Savin, Ivan & Sarto i Monteys, Víctor, 2020. "Cost-benefit analysis of conservation policy: The red palm weevil in Catalonia, Spain," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    10. repec:caa:jnljfs:v:preprint:id:9-2024-jfs is not listed on IDEAS
    11. Li, Xiaoshu & Boyle, Kevin J. & Preisser, Evan L. & Holmes, Thomas P. & Orwig, David, 2022. "Property value effects of the Hemlock wooly adelgid infestation in New England, U.S.A," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 194(C).
    12. Cuicui Chen & Rebecca S. Epanchin‐Niell & Robert G. Haight, 2018. "Optimal Inspection of Imports to Prevent Invasive Pest Introduction," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 38(3), pages 603-619, March.
    13. Mysha K. Clarke & Lara A. Roman & Tenley M. Conway, 2020. "Communicating with the Public about Emerald Ash Borer: Militaristic and Fatalistic Framings in the News Media," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-16, June.
    14. Epanchin-Niell, Rebecca S. & Liebhold, Andrew M., 2015. "Benefits of Invasion Prevention are Constrained by Lags and Timing of Invasion Impacts," RFF Working Paper Series dp-15-18, Resources for the Future.
    15. Stoeckl, Natalie & Dodd, Aaron & Kompas, Tom, 2023. "The monetary value of 16 services protected by the Australian National Biosecurity System: Spatially explicit estimates and vulnerability to incursions," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).

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