Evaluation of cost-effectiveness of conservation buffer placement strategies in a river basin

Conservation buffer is a best management practice for repairing impaired streams and restoring ecosystem functions in degraded watersheds. This paper compares the cost-effectiveness of three conservation buffer placement strategies in the Raritan Basin in New Jersey. Three strategies are the fixed-width riparian buffer restoration strategy based on state and local regulatory rules, the variable-width riparian buffer restoration strategy based on a nonregulatory watershed protection initiative and the variable source area-based conservation buffer placement strategy derived from an alternative concept of watershed hydrology. The variable source area-based conservation buffer placement strategy targets the most hydrologically critical source areas in a watershed for buffer placement. A digital elevation model, land use, soil, and stream data are used to identify critical source areas for buffer placement. The results show there are only minor differences in the cost-effectiveness of the fixed- and variable-width riparian buffer restoration strategies and that variable source area-based buffer placement strategy is more cost effective than the fixed- and variable-width riparian buffer restoration strategies. The critical source areas for placing conservation buffers are useful information for local watershed management, soil and water conservation, and land use planning.