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Abstract
This study explores the interactions of groundwater extraction, quality, and
greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions within a productive agricultural region. Two
conceptual models are proposed. In the first, GHG emissions are managed at the local
level, and an efficient level of abatement is solved for endogenously to the system. Here,
regional management of GHG emissions offers an alternative policy tool for managing
quantity/quality by internalizing the costs of a common externality associated with both
groundwater extraction and nitrogen fertilizer application. A simple numerical simulation
is used to illustrate the potential groundwater co-benefits of managing agricultural GHG
emissions within the system. The second model reflects the reality that GHG mitigation
efforts will occur at the national or international level; agricultural markets and
production will respond according to the scope of the policy mechanism and the
anticipated effect on agricultural markets and input costs. For this scenario, the impacts
of GHG mitigation on regional groundwater supplies are ambiguous. A set of scenarios is
derived in which groundwater co-benefits or co-costs can be expected within a region.
Groundwater managers should be cognizant of the indirect market pressures created by
agricultural GHG mitigation and bioenergy development, and should adapt conservation
and quality protection measures accordingly.