Land use has a direct impact on local watershed ecosystem
services (Schueler and Holland, 2000). When development
activities remove forest and wetland buffers replacing them with impervious surfaces, the result is a deterioration of
surface water quality associated with increased run-off.
Many economic studies indirectly investigate this impact on
aquatic eco-systems by investigating the preservation of openspaces
or non-developed (often agricultural) acreages that
include critical aquatic habitats