PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Cole, Matthew A. AU - Elliott, Robert J. R. AU - Strobl, Eric TI - Biodiversity and Economic Land Use AID - 10.3368/le.97.2.281 DP - 2021 May 01 TA - Land Economics PG - 281--304 VI - 97 IP - 2 4099 - http://le.uwpress.org/content/97/2/281.short 4100 - http://le.uwpress.org/content/97/2/281.full SO - Land Econ2021 May 01; 97 AB - We quantify the impact of economic land use (urban and agricultural) on biodiversity measured as phylogenetic diversity (or evolutionary distinctiveness). We construct phylogenetic diversity indexes for bird populations throughout the United States and match them to high-resolution land use data. Agricultural land decreases phylogenetic diversity. In contrast, urban land use initially encourages diversity; however, once 27% of the local area is urbanized, phylogenetic diversity falls. Phylogenetic diversity also benefits from the presence of a variety of land use types, to a point. We project land conversion and biodiversity loss to 2051 and calculate the costs of preventing such land conversion.