Value, Valuation and Use of Land in the West Indies

A Pedological Tale IV: Conversations with Turtle, Bear, and Eagle

The article presents a comprehensive study aimed at the theoretical substantiation and assessment of ecological and economic determinants of agricultural land value formation in de-occupied territories (using the Brovary district of the Kyiv region as a case study). The relevance of the research is driven by the necessity for an objective evaluation of land assets directly affected by hostilities. To achieve the research objectives, a comparative analysis of market prices was conducted, contrasting the pre-war period (2021–2022) with the post-occupation period (2024–2025) based on secondary market data.The results of the analysis revealed a significant decrease in the average value of agricultural land. It was determined that different types of land use in this category experienced different decreases in value. Key ecological and economic factors that affect the change in the value of land were identified and substantiated, in particular, technogenic pollution as a result of military actions and changes in the structure of the offer market. The study also took into account the factor of the high cost of demining and, if necessary, reclamation of agricultural land.The results of the study emphasize the heterogeneity of the impact of war on different types of agricultural lands and indicate the need to develop comprehensive programs of restoration, reclamation and economic stimulation to increase the investment attractiveness of these territories.Received: 09.12.2025;Accepted:18.03.2026

New rail transit projects and land values: The difference in the impact of rail transit investment on different land types, values and locations

To remain relevant in a changing world, soil survey and soil science need to look beyond the traditional to urban applications. Urban and suburban areas generally have the highest population densities and land values and arguably the greatest need for the ecosystem services that soil can provide. The urban environment poses a distinctive set of challenges for soil scientists. The description, classification, and mapping of soils in human-altered and human-transported materials is the charge of the field soil scientist, extending above and beyond the urban setting. Environmental professionals, planners, educators, and students in urban areas are often unfamiliar with soil survey and soil science in general. This paper discusses a successful approach to establishing a soil survey or soil science program in the urban community. For over 20 years, the United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDA-NRCS) and the New York City Soil and Water Conservation District (NYCSWCD) have conducted a soil survey program in New York City, producing multiple soil surveys at different scales, culminating in a 1:12000 scale survey posted on the Web Soil Survey site in 2014. The multifaceted program has also included onsite investigations, research projects, and an education and outreach component including lectures, training sessions, and workshops, as well as volunteer and internship opportunities. New and innovative approaches in soil survey methods, product design and delivery, and outreach have been used, as appropriate, to best fit the needs of the urban environment. The NYC Soil Survey program has built a succession of partnerships with government agencies, colleges, universities, and community and commercial groups, resulting in a variety of products and services to meet local soil science needs. Over time, the program has successfully been able to raise awareness of soil science in the urban environment, establish a USDA-NRCS presence in the City, and provide useful soil information to an underserved segment of the population. Making the local connection, listening to local needs, offering a multifaceted and wide array of soil science-related services, exploring innovative approaches, and creating partnerships have shown to be successful components of establishing a soil survey program in the urban environment.

Green Economy and Infrastructure Contributions of USDA Urban and Nonfarm Soil Projects in the U.S.

Endorsement of USDA Soil Taxonomy by the International Union of Soil Sciences

Maps of potential habitat distribution are needed for regional population models of rare species, but reliable information from ground surveys is not always available. Existing data sources from disciplines other than ecological research often are underused. In this article, we discuss the development of a geographic information system (GIS) model that predicts potential habitats from ecosystem information contained in the US soil classification and soil survey. Soil classification and survey were used in the GIS model in an earlier study on the US Department of Energy's Oak Ridge Reservation, Tennessee, to predict threatened calcareous habitats. The model predicts potential habitats from the combination of (a) soil taxon as an indication of long-term ecosystem processes; (b) geologic parent material; and (c) slope class. Satellite imagery was added to indicate current successional state. In this study, we tested the model's predictive ability by using data from the Cedar Creek Slope Glades Preserve at the 44,000-ha US Department of Defense Fort Knox Military Reservation, Kentucky. We then used the model to predict occurrences of potential suitable habitat on the remainder of the Fort Knox reservation, including heavily impacted ordnance and tank training areas that are unsafe for public access. The soil component of the model also was applied to a 1.2 × 106–km2 region of the US, by using the US Department of Agriculture–National Resources Conservation Service (USDA-NRCS) State Soil Geographic Database (STATSGO) combined with official soil series descriptions. Soil taxa from the USDA-NRCS Soil Taxonomy were demonstrated to be associated with threatened calcareous habitats of rare plant species. These soil taxa were lithic mollisols (rendolls and udolls; Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) rendzinas and chernozems) and alfisols (udalfs; FAO luvisols). The combined soil/geology/slope GIS approach has potential for prediction of rare ecosystems with narrow edaphic constraints. The approach would be useful in long-term planning for conservation management and restoration, especially where intensive ground surveys are expensive and/or impractical and where disturbance history obscures patterns of historical distribution.

This paper investigates farmers' perceptions of soil erosion and how it affects crop yields, land values, and private conservation investments in India's semiarid tropics. It is based on three types of data: (1) a survey of farmers in three study villages; (2) a plot survey by a professional soil surveyor in the same villages; and (3) experimental and simulated data from nearby research stations with similar conditions. Farmers' perceptions of erosion are compared to the surveyor's using kappa, a statistical measure of interrater agreement. Perceived erosion–yield relationships are estimated econometrically and compared to experimental and simulated data. Effects on land values and conservation investments are estimated econometrically. Findings suggest that farmers are keenly aware of rill erosion but less aware of sheet erosion; kappa values ranging from 0 to 0·28 suggest low agreement with the soil surveyor. They anticipate annual yield losses of 5·8–11 per cent due to rill erosion; these figures are reasonably consistent with those from nearby research stations. They anticipate yield increases of 3·8–14·5 per cent due to installation of soil conservation bunds, largely because they can harvest soil from up the slope and capture organic matter. Perceived erosion has some effect on land values and soil conservation investments, but other factors such as irrigation and soil type have a much greater effect. These findings suggest that promoting soil conservation requires capitalizing on farmers' interest in short-term gains, such as from water and nutrient management. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The 2004 Florida Land Value Survey results indicate that the value of all types of agricultural land increased substantially in all regions of the state from 2003 to 2004. The market for agricultural land was very active this past year and the rate of increase in land values was particularly high in the South region. The percentage change in most categories was in the double-digits. Survey respondents indicated that increases in agricultural land values were primarily due to strong nonagricultural demand for land. Agricultural land values vary by the type of land use and geographic area. The survey results indicate that the average value for agricultural land ranges from approximately $1,500 per acre for unimproved pasture and farm woods in the Northwest region to over $6,500 for orange groves in the South region. This is EDIS document FE545, a publication of the Department of Food and Resource Economics, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL. Published April 2005.

The Florida Land Value Survey, conducted by the Food and Resource Economics Department at the University of Florida, provides estimates of the value of different types of agricultural land for geographic regions of the state. The survey questionnaire was designed to obtain estimates of the market value for different types of land as of May 2005. Survey respondents included rural appraisers, farm lenders, real estate brokers, farm managers, land investors, county extension agents, personnel from the Farm Services Agency and the Natural Resource Conservation Service, county property appraisers, and other persons who develop and maintain information about rural land values in their areas. Respondents provided 185 usable county reports for the 2005 survey. This document is FE625, one of a series of the Food and Resource Economics Department, UF/IFAS Extension. Original publication date January 2006. FE625/FE625: Strong Nonagricultural Demand Keeps Agricultural Land Values Increasing (2005) (ufl.edu)

Land value creation and benefit distribution in the process of rural-urban land conversion: A case study in Wuhan City, China

Determination of urban land value: a systematic literature review

This paper presents an Excel approach for infiltration capacity for different types of lands. That is to employ the popular Microsoft Excel software to represent the measured infiltration data graphically. Regression analysis is performed for the accumulated infiltration versus the time. Equations are obtained to predict the accumulated infiltration at required times.
 Thirty one raw infiltration measurements from various sources are gathered, studied and analyzed applying this approach. Measurements include different types of soil textures and land covers. The infiltration rates are measured by the commonly used infiltrometer. Both single infiltrometer and double infiltrometer are employed.
 It is concluded that the presented Polynomial infiltration model of Excel approach for the accumulated infiltration is associated with high accuracy, where the values of coefficient of determination (R2) range between 0.9850 and 0.9998. The obtained equations can help in irrigation processes.
 All the gathered raw experimental infiltration measurements are also analyzed employing Horton and Kostiakov infiltration models. It is found that the Polynomial infiltration model of Excel approach has higher accuracy, followed by Kostiakov model, and finally Horton model. The values of different constants of Horton and Kostiakov infiltration models for all cases are obtained. The accuracy of the Polynomial, Horton and Kostiakov infiltration models are studied considering the types of soil texture and land cover.
 Investigating the constants A, B and C of the obtained equation of the polynomial infiltration model of Excel approach, it is found that all A values are negative, all B values are positive, and all C values are positive except for sandy clay and sandy clay loam soils. There is no specific trend for the effect of the associated land cover on constants A, B, and C except for loamy sand soil, where B and C values for bare land are greater than their values for irrigated land.

This document is about the 2000 Florida Land Value Survey conducted by the University of Florida’s Food and Resource Economics Department. It highlights the increase in agricultural land values across all regions of Florida, with significant rises in the value of grapefruit groves and cropland. The survey divides the state into five regions and provides detailed estimates of land values for various types of agricultural land. It also discusses transition land values and cash rent estimates, emphasizing the impact of urbanization and nonagricultural demand on land values. First published Sept. 2000.

Our paper explores the informative power of artificial brightness, derived from meteorological satellites, in determining land values at the city-level from 1997 to 2012 in the Philippines. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to do so, thereby, contributing to the literature and to the real estate development in the country. We construct innovative longitudinal data, which captures both the temporal and spatial effects of night-time lights (NTL) intensity on zonal values. Our fixed effects panel estimates support the findings in the existing literature with caveats. The relationship between NTL and land values is nuanced and heterogenous conditional on the level of brightness and the type of land. NTL has a quadratic concave-downward effect on residential land values while a linear positive effect on commercial zonal values. The results could be attributed to the diminishing returns to urbanization, which NTL intensity is proxying for, light pollution, and signal saturation. Our results highlight the relevance of incorporating remotely sensed earth observations into the country’s cadastral and land tax systems. This process has the potential to contribute to the sustainable development goals (SDGs) such as building resilient communities and infrastructures, and reducing inequality (SDGs 9, 10 and 11).