The Private Economy of Dehesas and Ranches: Case Studies

Ecosystem Services are Social–ecological Services in a Traditional Pastoral System: the Case of California’s Mediterranean Rangelands

“…Standiford and Howitt (1992) found that depending on site productivity, adding sustainably harvested fuelwood and fee hunting could substantially increase income for California ranchers with oak woodlands, creating an economic imperative for maintaining oaks and their associated ecosystem services. Oviedo et al (2013) showed that for two ranch case studies in the Sacramento Valley foothills, ranchers benefited from marketing firewood, hunting, and crops.…”

“…Data from ranch commercial operations, land appreciation rates, and the nonmarket value of the private amenities consumed by ranchers as part of their annual income are integrated to compare rates of return (Oviedo et al 2013; Table 2). As a result, the rates of return from the two ranch case studies differentiate between commercial and amenity returns as well as between returns deriving from operations and capital gains, the latter including land appreciation as its main component.…”

“…http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol19/iss1/art8/ Notes: Land appreciation (included in the rate of return from capital gain) is estimated for the period 1999-2010 in order to show figures for an average year. Amenity income was calculated using a contingent valuation approach (adapted from Oviedo et al 2013). Rate of return is estimated including subsidies net of taxes received by the rancher in the analyzed year.…”

“…A decline in livestock production, revealed as ongoing in the oak woodland survey (Huntsinger et al 2010b) and in range economics studies (Torell et al 2005, Oviedo et al 2013) could have important impacts on the ecosystem, and on the flow of ecosystem services, given the role of natural resource management at the ranch and pasture scale. Livestock grazing is critical in maintaining the structure and function of ranches, keeping grazing-related habitat characteristics, and supporting production of many of the current ecosystem services.…”

“…As discussed by Oviedo et al (2012), the decline of commercial production could eventually lead to the subdivision of ranches, implying a potential threat from subsequent habitat and http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol19/iss1/art8/ landscape fragmentation. Additionally, the high rates of land appreciation like those so prevalent in the early years of the 21 st century could enhance the trend of selling off small parcels so that ranchers can meet cash-flow shortages derived from low or negative commercial rate of returns (Oviedo et al 2013). …”