IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/forpol/v170y2025ics1389934124002600.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Valuation of forested river riparian buffers: Support for riverine integrity and climate resilience

Author

Listed:
  • Phillips, Mallory
  • Boyle, Kevin J.
  • Swedberg, Kristen

Abstract

This study investigates the connection between river riparian buffers and property values. The buffers protect the integrity of aquatic ecosystems and support resilience to rising temperatures and severe storms due to climate change. A hedonic study using 18,782 property sales was conducted to estimate the value of riverfront land and forested riparian buffers along the New and Watauga Rivers in North Carolina. Property owners place a significant value on river frontage and the associated amenities – 30 % of a riverfront property value is attributable to the river frontage, about $133,653 of a mean property value of $445,510. Owners of river-front properties value forested riparian buffers but there is a catch, they do not want all the riparian buffer on their land forested. Property sale prices increase as the percentage of the riparian buffer that is forested increases and prices are maximized at 40 % tree cover. At 40 % tree cover, 37 % property sale prices are attributable to riparian tree cover. However, with 100 % tree cover property values are reduced by about $175,000 relative to an average priced property with no riparian tree cover. The results can help government agencies and NGOs interested in riverine ecosystem resilience in the face of development and climate change to motivate revegetation of riparian buffers with limited tree cover; it is in the financial, and esthetic, interest of landowners to increase the forested portion of their riparian buffer. If extensive tree cover is desired, say greater than 50 % forested, landowner education and revegetation cost-sharing programs are unlikely to provide sufficient incentives to garner landowner participation and more sophisticated programing is required.

Suggested Citation

  • Phillips, Mallory & Boyle, Kevin J. & Swedberg, Kristen, 2025. "Valuation of forested river riparian buffers: Support for riverine integrity and climate resilience," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 170(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:forpol:v:170:y:2025:i:c:s1389934124002600
    DOI: 10.1016/j.forpol.2024.103406
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1389934124002600
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.forpol.2024.103406?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kelly C. Bishop & Nicolai V. Kuminoff & H. Spencer Banzhaf & Kevin J. Boyle & Kathrine von Gravenitz & Jaren C. Pope & V. Kerry Smith & Christopher D. Timmins, 2020. "Best Practices for Using Hedonic Property Value Models to Measure Willingness to Pay for Environmental Quality," Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 14(2), pages 260-281.
    2. Bark, R.H. & Osgood, D.E. & Colby, B.G. & Katz, G. & Stromberg, J., 2009. "Habitat preservation and restoration: Do homebuyers have preferences for quality habitat?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(5), pages 1465-1475, March.
    3. Dennis Guignet & Matthew T. Heberling & Michael Papenfus & Olivia Griot, 2022. "Property Values, Water Quality, and Benefit Transfer: A Nationwide Meta-analysis," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 98(2), pages 191-218.
    4. Siriwardena, Shyamani D. & Boyle, Kevin J. & Holmes, Thomas P. & Wiseman, P. Eric, 2016. "The implicit value of tree cover in the U.S.: A meta-analysis of hedonic property value studies," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 128(C), pages 68-76.
    5. Kovacs, Kent & West, Grant & Nowak, David J. & Haight, Robert G., 2022. "Tree cover and property values in the United States: A national meta-analysis," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 197(C).
    6. Okmyung Bin & Craig E. Landry & Gregory F. Meyer, 2009. "Riparian Buffers and Hedonic Prices: A Quasi-Experimental Analysis of Residential Property Values in the Neuse River Basin," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 91(4), pages 1067-1079.
    7. Holmes, Thomas P. & Bergstrom, John C. & Huszar, Eric & Kask, Susan B. & Orr, Fritz III, 2004. "Contingent valuation, net marginal benefits, and the scale of riparian ecosystem restoration," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(1), pages 19-30, May.
    8. Bin, Okmyung & Landry, Craig E. & Meyer, Gregory F., 2009. "Title: “AJAE appendix for Riparian Buffers and Hedonic Prices: A Quasi-Experimental Analysis of Residential Property Values in the Neuse River Basin”," American Journal of Agricultural Economics APPENDICES, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 91(4), pages 1-3, February.
    9. Mooney, Sian & Eisgruber, Ludwig M, 2001. "The Influence of Riparian Protection Measures on Residential Property Values: The Case of the Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 22(2-3), pages 273-286, March-May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Toke Emil Panduro & Cathrine Ulla Jensen & Thomas Hedemark Lundhede & Kathrine von Graevenitz & Bo Jellesmark Thorsen, 2016. "Estimating demand schedules in hedonic analysis: The case of urban parks," IFRO Working Paper 2016/06, University of Copenhagen, Department of Food and Resource Economics.
    2. Guilfoos, Todd & Walsh, Jason, 2023. "A hedonic study of New England dam removals," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 203(C).
    3. Nicolai V. Kuminoff & Jaren C. Pope, 2014. "Do “Capitalization Effects” For Public Goods Reveal The Public'S Willingness To Pay?," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 55(4), pages 1227-1250, November.
    4. Polyakov, Maksym & Iftekhar, Md Sayed & Fogarty, James & Buurman, Joost, 2022. "Renewal of waterways in a dense city creates value for residents," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 199(C).
    5. Kousky, Carolyn & Walls, Margaret, 2014. "Floodplain conservation as a flood mitigation strategy: Examining costs and benefits," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 119-128.
    6. Hyun No Kim & Ik-Chang Choi, 2018. "The Economic Impact of Government Policy on Market Prices of Low-Fat Pork in South Korea: A Quasi-Experimental Hedonic Price Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-16, March.
    7. Ren, Qianping & West, Jeremy, 2023. "Cleaner waters and urbanization," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 122(C).
    8. Cao, Y. & Swallow, B. & Qiu, F., 2018. "Does Municipal Development Policy Affect Property Values: A Quasi-Experimental Hedonic Model Approach in Alberta, Canada," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 277044, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    9. Kovacs, Kent & West, Grant & Nowak, David J. & Haight, Robert G., 2022. "Tree cover and property values in the United States: A national meta-analysis," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 197(C).
    10. Li, Liqing, 2023. "Environmental goods provision and gentrification: Evidence from MillionTreesNYC," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    11. Zhaoyang Liu & Heqing Huang & Juha Siikamäki & Jintao Xu, 2024. "Area-Based Hedonic Pricing of Urban Green Amenities in Beijing: A Spatial Piecewise Approach," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 87(5), pages 1223-1248, May.
    12. Ferris, Jeffrey & David, Newburn, 2014. "Residential Development And The Effect Of Forest Conservation Policy," 2014 Annual Meeting, July 27-29, 2014, Minneapolis, Minnesota 170337, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    13. 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).
    14. Kuwayama, Yusuke & Olmstead, Sheila & Krupnick, Alan, 2013. "Water Resoures and Unconventional Fossil Fuel Development: Linking Physical Impacts to Social Costs," RFF Working Paper Series dp-13-34, Resources for the Future.
    15. Pei-Ing Wu & Yi Chen & Je-Liang Liou, 2021. "Housing property along riverbanks in Taipei, Taiwan: a spatial quantile modelling of landscape benefits and flooding losses," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(2), pages 2404-2438, February.
    16. Cao, Yangzhe & Swallow, Brent & Qiu, Feng, 2021. "Identifying the effects of a land-use policy on willingness to pay for open space using an endogenous switching regression model," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    17. Belcher, Richard N. & Chisholm, Ryan A., 2018. "Tropical Vegetation and Residential Property Value: A Hedonic Pricing Analysis in Singapore," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 149-159.
    18. Sheila M. Olmstead, 2010. "The Economics of Managing Scarce Water Resources," Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 4(2), pages 179-198, Summer.
    19. B. James Deaton & Richard J. Vyn, 2015. "The Effect of Ontario's Greenbelt on the Price of Vacant Farmland," Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics/Revue canadienne d'agroeconomie, Canadian Agricultural Economics Society/Societe canadienne d'agroeconomie, vol. 63(2), pages 185-208, June.
    20. Hidano, Noboru & Hoshino, Tadao & Sugiura, Ayako, 2015. "The effect of seismic hazard risk information on property prices: Evidence from a spatial regression discontinuity design," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 113-122.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:forpol:v:170:y:2025:i:c:s1389934124002600. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/forpol .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.