Economic Trade‐Offs of Land Use Change and Wildlife Values

ABSTRACT Land use conversion entails trade‐offs across multiple ecosystem services of wildlife. Wildlife is often characterized by spatiotemporal dynamics that affect this trade‐off. The aim of this paper is to examine the net benefits from changes in the land use composition, given the consequences for the benefits provided by a harvested migratory prey species. The study is applied to land use and roe deer hunting in Sweden. We examine the spatial dynamics of land use, predator populations, prey, and prey hunting, by developing a bioeconomic model that is estimated using a dynamic spatial‐lag model (dynamic SAR). The results show that a conversion of coniferous and broadleaf forests into grazing land increases game harvests and could offset the negative impact of large carnivores on hunting outcomes. Yet, such conversion is likely to be associated with a net social cost. In contrast, there are both increased game harvests and net economic gains from conversion of coniferous forests into broadleaves. Our findings are informative for policymaking on land use and wildlife management.