Dynamic Benefit–Cost Analysis for Controlling Perennial Pepperweed (Lepidium latifolium): A Case Study

Perennial pepperweed, found throughout the western United States, reduces biodiversity and causes economic losses in the form of control costs as well as decreased quantity and quality of agricultural yields. The future stream of net benefits of weed management and the future point in time at which they will have accumulated enough to equal total management costs were estimated under different land-use and expansion rate scenarios. Benefits and costs were calculated in present value terms by applying a rate of discount to future values. On land used solely for grazing, the total economic returns from management did not equal total costs until 15 yr after initial treatment. However, on land used for grazing plus hay harvest, cumulative benefits equaled and began to exceed cumulative costs after 4 to 5 yr. The costs and benefits of management efforts were also estimated for a landowner, who controls an adjacent infestation before it spreads. This landowner benefited economically from weed management in as little as 5 to 6 yr, highlighting the importance of cooperative efforts to control nearby weed infestations.