Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP)

A guide to literature examining environmental effects of U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) conservation programs. Examples of programs covered are the Conservation Reserve Program, Environmental Quality Incentives Program, Wetlands Reserve Program and Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program. The purpose of this document is to provide an overview of various environmental outcomes resulting from landowner participation in USDA conservation programs. This information is useful for assessing on-the-ground results of conservation programs from various environmental perspectives.

A guide to scholarly literature examining agricultural producers' views of conservation programs and practices. The purpose is to provide people working in the area of agriculture and the environment with a guide to information resources that focus on the psychological and socioeconomic factors that influence agricultural producers' behavior with regard to environmental issues. An understanding of barriers to, and incentives for, conservation practices will foster development of conservation programs and practices that fit the needs of agricultural producers.

A guide to literature on the data and modeling requirements for environmental credit trading. Environmental credit trading is an approach to environmental protection that uses market-based mechanisms to efficiently allocate emission or pollutant reductions among sources with different marginal control costs. The purpose of this document is to help people with an interest in environmental credit trading and agriculture become informed about the current state of data acquisition and use of simulation models in this emerging field.

A guide to literature covering agricultural conservation practices and associated issues. It is intended to help people working in the area of agriculture and the environment identify information resources they can use to help design and implement productive agricultural systems that foster environmental protection and improvement. A range of conservation practices and environmental issues associated with agricultural landscapes is covered. Rather than being a listing of the many individual studies done on conservation practices, this document focuses on literature reviews, summary articles, white papers and books--documents where information has been combined and synthesized from many sources. Taken as a whole, this bibliography gives an overview of the current literature covering conservation practices, including the research needed to improve practices.

A guide to recent scientific literature covering environmental aspects of wetlands in agricultural landscapes. The purpose of the bibliography is to highlight research findings in two main areas: (1) the effect of conservation practices (and other agricultural activities) on wetlands and (2) the environmental effects of wetlands as conservation practices (including constructing and restoring wetlands). The bibliography will also facilitate the identification of knowledge gaps regarding effects of conservation practices on ecosystem services provided by wetlands in agricultural landscapes, and help identify where research is needed.

A guide to recent scientific literature covering environmental effects of conservation practices on grazing lands. This information is useful in designing both policies and on-the-land conservation systems that foster practical and environmentally sound grazing practices.

A guide to recent scientific literature covering effects of agricultural conservation practices on fish and wildlife. The citations listed here provide information on how conservation programs and practices designed to improve fish and wildlife habitat, as well as those intended for other purposes, e.g., water quality improvement, affect various aquatic and terrestrial fauna.

Poster presented at the 2005 Soil and Water Conservation Society Annual Conference, Jul 30-Aug 4 in Rochester, NY.

Brochure describing the CEAP bibliography series.