Abstract for:Diffusion of Soil Conservation Efforts; Understanding the Feedbacks of Conservation Success

The adoption of conservation practices is a complex process dependent on social, institutional, physical, and economic considerations. While technical solutions have been shown to be effective, evidence of watershed level success is limited– despite millions of dollars of conservation funds. Identifying and debating system structure and feedback structures may serve to improve the efficacy of conservation dollars. A Bass diffusion model is being developed for gaming exploration with conservation and producer stakeholders. The model simulates the effects of conservation funds on conservation adoption. Global price forcing and intrinsic, nonlinear erosion distributions with space modulate erosion outcomes. Preliminary results suggest funds associated with self-supporting conservation practices have far greater impacts than funding limited practices. The targeting of erodible lands increases erosion reductions, particularly under price perturbations.