Valuing the environmental externalities of oasis farming in Left Banner, Alxa, China

Abstract

Agriculture's environmental footprint is expanding and one of its most critical impacts in China is the over-exploitation of surface water and groundwater from aquifers. This study investigated an approach for estimating the physical dimensions of the environmental externalities from a maize cropping system in oasis farming of the arid north-west of China, and the monetary valuation of these environmental externalities based on integrated process-based biophysical and economic models. The simulation results show that current farming practices cause 7854 Yuan/ha of groundwater recharge cost, 7696 Yuan/ha of water treatment cost, and 91 Yuan/ha of N2O mitigation cost. These costs lead to a soc..