Search

Problem Blood is a rare perishable substance with limited life in the real world and blood supply chain management is a vital subject. Hence, it is trying to design an efficient supply chain network to create a balance between blood supply and demand, particularly in deficient conditions. One effective solution for blood deficiency compensation is the use of incentive programs at the right times to encourage people for blood donation. The novel aspect of this study considers a new mathematical model to design a blood supply chain network with the location of temporary centers for collecting donated blood, in addition to incentive programs in the right periods to actualize the goal of creating blood supply-demand equilibrium and minimizing the cost of the network. Method In this paper, four methods have been used in different dimensions to solve the proposed model. In this case, augmented epsilon constraint (AEC/EC) was used for small dimensions, while electromagnetic algorithm (EM), Non-dominated ranked genetic algorithm (NRGA), and non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm (NSGA-II) were used for large dimensions due to the inherent complexity of the problem. Results The performance of algorithms was analyzed based on the four standard indicators. Then, their outputs were evaluated using statistical assumption tests at the significance level of 0.05. In three considered indicators (SNS, MID, and TIME indicators), the NSGA-II algorithm outperformed the NRGA and EM algorithms. This case indicated the superiority of the NSGA-II algorithm over the NRGA and EM algorithms especially for problem solution time, which is one of the most significant indicators used in metaheuristic algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the coming decades, promoting the production of ecosystem service provisioning will become increasingly important in the U.S. Northeast, which is expected to experience a number of impacts as a result of climate change, including rising temperatures, changes in precipitation and seasonality, and sea-level rise, among others (U.S. Global Change Research Program 2020). Incentives have been shown to motivate the adoption of sustainable production practices that provision ecosystem services across different types of working landscapes. Using data from a recent landscape assessment in the Northeast, this paper finds an incredible breadth of programs available to producers across a variety of working landscapes (e.g., agricultural lands and working forests) and for different production practices. These data also point to critical gaps in current programming and also highlight important opportunities for programmatic synergy and more holistic program design going forward. This paper concludes by discussing the results in the context of four main themes of particular relevance to the U.S. Northeast which include (1) working landbase and infrastructure, (2) livelihood provisioning, (3) scale, and (4) resilience.

Consumers and policymakers are increasingly concerned with environmental sustainability in food production. Yet rates of adoption of many conservation practices vary and are generally low. Existing instruments for practice adoption increase farmers' expected net benefits from sustainable practices but do not manage associated risks which may be critical to risk-averse farmers. We build a model to characterize practice adoption by risk-averse farmers given practice-driven, long-run yield dynamics under various instruments, including price premiums, lump-sum subsidies and green insurance. We find rich scale and compositional effects that differ across instruments and that green insurance is significantly more cost-effective under plausible conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural incentive programs promote ecosystem health and biodiversity on California working lands and encourage a multitude of conservation goals. The various objectives, environmental impacts, and financial costs of conservation incentive programs are challenging to assess. The ecosystem services framework is a useful tool for identifying tradeoffs between conservation management options. Here, 52 active incentive programs were reviewed to determine the ecosystem services prioritized by each program in California. Next, the top 20 highest funded federal conservation practices were assessed in terms of their ecosystem service impacts. We found that there is a gap between California’s ecosystem services goals and the ecosystem services that are impacted by federal programs, and that the top funded practices are not necessarily the ones that deliver the best benefits in terms of ecosystem services. This study highlights the gaps between conservation goals and outcomes on California agricultural land, as well as the need for regional conservation monitoring to determine the impacts of incentive programs.

The need to transition to sustainable agricultural practices while maintaining high food yield and strengthening resilience to climate change cannot be overstated. California farmers have received incentive funding from federal and state agencies to use land management practices that are less impactful to the land and in line with California’s sustainability goals. However, there are no regional monitoring measures to determine whether farming is becoming more sustainable. In this study, we used land cover change analysis and ecosystem services (ES) modeling to understand how farming practices influence environmental benefits on California farmland from 2010 to 2020. We analyzed the tradeoffs between soil erosion control, soil carbon storage, and production of California’s top agricultural commodities, and we compared these changes to changes in land cover in five agricultural regions statewide. We found that the trade-offs in ESs and food production differ depending on the regional context, and that major expansion in almond production and land use changes have had different impacts throughout California. Statewide, soil organic carbon storage increased, soil erosion control increased slightly, and food production boomed for most commodities. Incentive programs that influence farming practices may need to operate at a regional level rather than a statewide level to achieve sustainable outcomes specific to each region.

Farmers in the Great Lakes region of the U.S. face tremendous pressure to reduce nutrient losses from agriculture. Increasing crop rotation diversity with overwintering cover crops can support ecological processes that maintain productivity while improving multiple ecosystem functions, including nutrient retention. We conducted a mixed-methods study to understand how financial incentive programs impact transitions to cover cropping in Michigan. Michigan farms span a wide range of soil types, climate conditions, and cropping systems that create opportunities for cover crop adoption in the state. We tested the relationship between Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) payments for cover crops and cover crop adoption between 2008–2019, as measured by remote sensing. We coupled this quantitative analysis with interviews with 21 farmers in the Lake Erie watershed to understand farmers’ perspectives on how incentive programs could support greater cover crop adoption. Panel fixed effects regressions showed that EQIP increased winter cover crop presence. Every EQIP dollar for cover crops was associated with a 0.01 hectare increase in winter cover, while each hectare enrolled in an EQIP contract for cover crops was associated with a 0.86–0.93 hectare increase in winter cover. In semi-structured interviews, farmers reported that financial incentives were instrumental to cover crop adoption, but that program outcomes fall short of intended goals due to policy design problems that may limit widespread participation and effectiveness. Thus, strengthening EQIP and related conservation programs could support broader transitions to diversified farming systems that are more sustainable and resilient.

Wildfires have caused significant ecological and social losses in terms of forest benefits, private dwellings, and suppression costs. Although great efforts have been made in wildfire policies and wildfire-mitigating strategies on private and public lands, devastating wildfires continue to occur. This implies there is a need for effective incentive-driven policies to encourage forest owners to undertake an increasing level of wildfire-mitigating actions. This study evaluates the effectiveness of alternative incentive-driven policies for the problem of two adjacent forest owners under various scenarios of misinformation about wildfire occurrence and spread using a stochastic dynamic model. The study also investigates how the implementation of these policies encourages wildfire-mitigating actions, yields larger reductions in social losses, and alleviates free-riding behavior. The outcomes of the analysis confirm that the effectiveness of incentive programs in reducing social losses and increasing forest value is influenced by the level of misinformation held by a forest owner when making wildfire prevention decisions. The results also revealed that fuel stock regulation is more effective at mitigating wildfire damages and associated costs than cost-share programs under all misinformation scenarios. It was also found that fuel stock regulation could correct free-riding behavior due to the restrictive nature of this policy. The findings provide additional motivation for educational programs that seek to improve forest owners' knowledge about the private benefits of fuel removal and collaboration efforts between neighboring forest owners. Collaborative efforts could yield substantial savings for the government through eliminating cost-share programs and reducing suppression costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The average participation rate based on actions was significantly lower than the rates based on intentions (hypothetical program: I t i = 3.75, I p i = 0.0003; contingently modified program: I t i = 2.70, I p i = 0.0077), whereas the average participation rate in a hypothetical program was higher than that in a contingently modified program ( I t i = 2.54, I p i = 0.0117). Landowner participation behavior regarding a conservation program (e.g., set-aside) is likely to differ from behavior regarding a forestry management program (e.g., afforestation) due to different underlying motives or types of landowners (Lindhjem & Mitani 2012). Finally, our results showed that managers of forestry-oriented programs have a harder time upping participation rates than managers of conservation programs: conservation programs forecasted 25% higher participation rates than forestry or other management programs. Keywords: conservation easements; ecosystem services; incentive programs; landowner behavior; private forestland; voluntary participation; comportamiento del terrateniente; mitigación por conservación; participación voluntaria; programas de incentivos; servicios ambientales; tierras forestales privadas;: , , , , , EN conservation easements ecosystem services incentive programs landowner behavior private forestland voluntary participation comportamiento del terrateniente mitigación por conservación participación voluntaria programas de incentivos servicios ambientales tierras forestales privadas: , , , , , 1 14 14 03/02/22 20220201 NES 220201 Introduction In response to conflict-fraught and often unsuccessful direct regulation, voluntary incentive programs that encourage the provision of additional ecosystem services (ES) on private forest land have received increasing attention in recent years (Hanley et al. 2012; Ando & Langpap 2018; Langpap et al. 2018). [Extracted from the article]

The paper explains the need for energy renovation of public and other buildings and the regulatory framework (regulations and program procedures) through which this is sought. Important parameters of energy renovation of 48 school buildings in Osijek-Baranja County were processed and analyzed in more detail within the projects contracted in 2017 and 2018 (co-financed from the European Structural and Investment Funds within the Operational Program "Competitiveness and Cohesion" 2014-2020). The content of energy renovation works and their frequency in buildings and the expected energy savings were presented. The representation of existing energy classes and their improvement after reconstruction, regarding the construction period were analysed. The costs of renovation in relation to the age and area of buildings were considered as well. These data were compared to the results from the previous cycle of family houses' renovation in the same county (2015-2016), while the owners were co-financed, without the required minimum of improvement. The problems of the energy renewal process were highlighted and recommendations for better efficiency were given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Evaluated effects of planting rate on longleaf pine survival, habitat, and timber quality. • Planting density negatively influenced understory vegetation and wildlife habitat quality. • Lower planting rates result in fewer tradeoffs between timber and habitat quality. • Higher planting rates have mixed effects on timber quality. Longleaf pine (Pinus palustris), a historically abundant tree species in the southeastern United States, is often planted to restore the ecologically and culturally important longleaf pine ecosystem that once covered vast acreages in the southeastern United States. Government cost-share programs that support establishment of these plantations place restrictions on planting rates to promote wildlife habitat, as greater tree planting density may reduce canopy openness and herbaceous plant cover that are critical components of habitat for priority species, including gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) and Bachman's sparrow (Peucaea aestivalis). However, there is expressed concern among some forest managers that more open grown trees in the plantations will be of inferior timber quality with more and larger horizontal branches and associated knots. We examined how density affects dynamics and tradeoffs among understory vegetation structure and composition, longleaf pine stem form (branch density and straightness), and longleaf pine survival by sampling 73 plantations of various ages (5–25 years) and planting rates (653–2445 trees per hectare (TPH)/264–990 trees per acre (TPA)) throughout the southeastern United States. We documented a relationship between planting rate and longleaf pine stand density at time of sampling (r = 0.69, p = 0.0001) and relationships between stand density and habitat and timber quality metrics. Greater stand density resulted in lower tree diameters but greater stand basal area than lower stand density. Higher planting rates led to lower branch density and lower straightness grades than lower planting rates. Canopy openness decreased with greater stand density, and bare ground cover and herbaceous cover decreased as density and stand age at time of sampling increased. Based on our results, we suggest that lower maximum planting rates are appropriate when wildlife habitat is a program objective because lower rates result in fewer tradeoffs, as reducing planting rates slows degradation of wildlife habitat when compared with higher maximum planting rates that have only mixed benefits on timber quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Disparities in healthy food access and consumption are a major public health concern. This study reports the findings from a two-year randomized control trial conducted at 77 farmers' markets (FMs) in 13 states and the District of Columbia that sought to understand the impact of fruit and vegetable (FV) incentive vouchers, randomly issued at varied incentive levels to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients, for use at FMs. Measures included FV and overall household food purchasing; FV consumption; food insecurity; health status; market expenditure; and demographics. A repeated-measures mixed-effects analysis and the Complier Average Causal Effect (CACE) were used to examine outcomes. Despite 82% reporting food insecurity in the prior year, the findings showed that financial incentives at FMs had statistically significant, positive effects on FV consumption; market expenditures increased with added incentives. SNAP recipients receiving an incentive of USD 0.40 for every USD 1.00 in SNAP spent an average of USD 19.03 per transaction, while those receiving USD 2 for every USD 1 (2:1) spent an average of USD 36.28 per transaction. The data showed that the incentive program at the highest level (2:1) maximally increased SNAP FM expenditure and FV consumption, increasing the latter by 0.31 daily cups among those who used their incentive (CACE model).