Browsing by Author "Liu, Eric Ye"

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    Economics of Early Intervention to Suppress a Potential Spruce Budworm Outbreak in New Brunswick, Canada
    (University of New Brunswick, 2019) Liu, Eric Ye; Lantz, Van; MacLean, David
    Spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana Clem.) (SBW) outbreak is the most prominent natural disturbance in eastern Canada. Recently, an early intervention strategy (EIS) has been developed against SBW outbreaks in New Brunswick (NB). In this study, a Spruce Budworm Decision Support System (SBW DSS) was coupled with a Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model to assess the impacts of forest protection strategies in NB. The results demonstrated that a future SBW outbreak would reduce up to $35.31 billion of NB current value total domestic output. Regarding the efficacy of forest protection strategies, the EIS was predicted to be the most cost-effective and economically efficient. In contrast, if a future SBW outbreak exits, the EIS Fails & Reactive Strategy was anticipated to be more beneficial than the traditional Reactive Strategy. Overall, these results support the continued use of EIS as the most preferred strategy on economic grounds to protect against SBW outbreaks in NB.
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    Impacts of crop rotation and tillage practices on potato yield and revenue in northern New Brunswick, Canada
    (University of New Brunswick, 2015) Liu, Eric Ye; Lantz, Van; Olale, Edward
    This study investigated the effects of crop rotation and tillage practices on potato yield across nine farms and 72 fields in the Black Brook Watershed, northwestern New Brunswick, Canada, from 2006 to 2012. Specifically, a stochastic production function method was used to assess the manner in which five alternative crop rotations and three alternative tillage practices influenced mean, per acre, potato yields in each field along with other farm inputs, site characteristics, and climate factors. Overall, crop rotation and tillage practices had mixed effects on potato yield. For instance, with regard to crop rotations, a one potato in three year (l-in-3) rotation had the highest yield, followed by 2-in-3, 2-in-4, l-in-2 (the primary rotation system used by producers), and 3-in-4 rotations. On a comparable, 12-year horizon, a 2-in-3 rotation resulted in the largest present value revenue, followed by 3-in-4, 2-in-4, l-in-2, and l-in-3 rotations. Meanwhile, with regard to tillage practices, spring tillage had negative yield effects compared to fall tillage (the primary tillage practice), and the use of harrow and chisel plowing had positive yield effects. These findings indicate that the implementation of best management practices (e.g., spring tillage and l-in-3 rotations) often lead to lower yield and/or lower revenues and therefore need to be supported by governments through financial or other such incentives. Key words: Best management practices, conservation tillage, crop rotation, potato yield, Northwestern New Brunswick.