Ecological-economic modelling of the conservation of threatened habitats: heather moorland in the Northern Isles of Scotland

Heather moorland is important ecologically as a habitat for certain bird and plant species, but it also has a major impact on landscape quality. It has been argued that heather moorland degradation results in a loss of economic efficiency in resource use due to market failure and policy failure. Using the island archipelago of Orkney, Scotland, as an example, the nature of the heather moorland resource is described, and two models are developed: an ecological model of the carrying capacity of the resource for grazing, and an economic model of farming. The two models are then incorporated to examine the policy requirements for moorland protection. Results show that ecological modeling, combined with geographic information systems, can be used to pinpoint the spatial location of overgrazing. Economic modeling can then be used to calculate minimum necessary payments to farmers to reduce grazing levels to below the ecological thresholds.