Abstract Traditionally, ecosystem restoration has focussed on standard ecological indicators like water or habitat quality, species population abundance or vegetation cover to determine success. However, there is growing interest in how restoration might impact people and communities. For example, researchers have documented positive socio‐ecological links between restoration and human well‐being indicators like property value, natural hazard mitigation, recreation opportunity and happiness. Furthermore, public health benefits from restoration have been linked to public support for programmes. Drawing from this research, the United Nations declared 2021–2030 the ‘Decade of Ecosystem Restoration’ and set a goal to promote more socio‐ecological goals in ecosystem restoration. Nonetheless, there is still a lack of information on the extent to which restoration practitioners consider well‐being because many granting programmes only require ecological goals and monitoring. To explore how restoration practitioners design, implement and measure the success of their projects, we used the federally funded Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) as a case study. Since 2010, GLRI has awarded over $3.5 Billion to over 5300 projects across the midwestern United States, but it does not presently require human well‐being considerations. We performed an online survey targeting project managers with a sample of GLRI projects (N = 1574). We received 437 responses and found that almost half set a human well‐being goal, and more than 70% of those who did believe they reached it. In comparison, 90% of project managers believed they met their ecological goals. These documented perceptions of positive impacts for both people and nature suggest that restoration may already transcend traditional indicators and monitoring for socio‐ecological metrics could capture many ‘unseen’ benefits. Therefore, we recommend that ecosystem restoration programmes adopt a socio‐ecological lens to document the full extent of their restoration outcomes. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

Conservation programs have been slow to integrate socio-economic indicators into decision making despite growing recognition that addressing social-ecological systems improves outcomes for nature and people. Our goal was to identify small, comprehensive sets of socio-economic indicators for conservation programs designed to (1) improve agricultural soil health and reduce sediment and nutrient loading to freshwater systems, (2) restore Great Lakes coastal wetlands, and (3) implement green stormwater infrastructure in cities. We piloted a structured decision-making process to select indicators more objectively and transparently. Important elements of our process were (a) using a human quality-of-life framework to identify potential indicators and (b) evaluating indicators' relevance to conservation, resonance with communities, and data-availability. The programs identified 278 potential indicators across seven quality-of-life domains, of which 78 were evaluated against six selection criteria. For each program, we developed intended use scenarios, assigned relative weights to selection criteria, and used these weights to calculate a weighted sum of the indicator's criteria scores and rank indicators. Across programs and intended uses, 21 indicators achieved top-five rankings; indicators for flood risk and damage were common across all three programs. Our collaborative approach provided opportunities to evaluate indicator selections across quality-of-life domain, conservation program, and intended uses.

The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI), designed to restore and protect the ecology of the Laurentian Great Lakes, is one of the largest environmental funding programs in the United States. Over 5,400 grants have been awarded in the last 11 years (2010-2020), representing over $3.5 billion in federal spending. A publicly available database that contains a written description about each grant is available online. However, analysis cannot easily be performed given that the descriptions are only textual. Therefore, we applied a modified version of the Conservation Action Classification (CAC 2.0), an established framework from the Open Standards for the Practice of Conservation, to synthesize the number of restoration actions, target species, and specific threats mentioned using thematic content analysis. The framework was modified to expand the CAC 2.0 by adding actions specific to GLRI. For example, we created typologies for the monitoring performed, site stewardship actions, and maritime ballast management practices. Based on this tally, we provide a summary of all the GLRI efforts to date. In addition to the more widely known restoration actions, we also describe the extent of educational, capacity building, and the non-monetary value projects that considered human wellbeing and/or focused on traditional ecological knowledge, recreation, or public outreach and engagement. Finally, we conclude with a discussion about the state of GLRI, the extent of the social or community-oriented efforts, and possible areas for adaptive management. This systematic coding process, and our shared supplementary data, can assist future GLRI research and strategic planning.(c) 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Indicators are essential, yet often overlooked and undervalued, elements of conservation planning. This is concerning given that selection and implementation of indicators is vital to monitoring, evaluation and learning and can require substantial investment of resources. While indicators are critical for successful program management, indicator selection is rarely approached as a discrete process, subsequently reducing transparency and increasing the likelihood of selection biases. There are many characteristics of a good indicator, such as how easily it is understood by key audiences or how easily it can be measured. As a result, choosing indicators, like choosing management actions, is inherently a value-based judgement because decision-makers must decide which indicator characteristics are most important among many options. We recommend using a structured selection process to deconstruct decision complexities, thereby increasing transparency, reducing selection biases and improving communication among participants involved in the selection process. We demonstrate the value of structured processes by using a PrOACT approach, which is an acronym for the key elements of decision making – Problem, Objectives, Alternatives, Consequences, and Tradeoffs. Operationalizing PrOACT elements within a structured framework involves (1) clarifying the decision problem, (2) specifying objectives for the decision, (3) developing imaginative alternatives, (4) understanding the consequences of your alternatives given the stated objectives, and (5) grappling with tradeoffs. We illustrate how this framework can be incorporated into indicator selection with examples from environmental programs and a case study that demonstrates how to operationalize a structured indicator selection process. Programs often achieve the first three elements – Problem, Objectives, and Alternatives – during indicator selection, but fail to fully address and document the Consequences and Tradeoffs of their decisions. By using a comprehensive PrOACT approach, programs, especially those with complex socio-ecological systems or risk-averse decision contexts, can systematically deconstruct the indicator selection process to more objectively and transparently assess these consequences and tradeoffs so the best possible selections can be made.

Coastal wetlands are projected to experience increases in anthropogenic and climatic disturbances, which may alter plant-sediment feedbacks critical for maintaining marsh resilience to sea level. To study the effects of disturbance on ecogeomorphic processes, we examined aboveground plant responses and sediment accretion in three locations relative to the shoreline (low, mid, and high) within a tidal marsh at Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, Mississippi, USA. This study site was affected by two hurricanes in the fall of 2008, and subsequently burned as part of a controlled experiment in January 2009, permitting examination of the effects of two disturbance types on aboveground plant responses and vertical accretion. Fire and hurricanes affected these response variables differently, with effects dependent on location within the marsh. Fire significantly reduced standing aboveground biomass, and subsequent recovery of vegetation relative to pre-burn levels was faster in low marsh plots nearest to the shore than in high marsh plots closest to the marsh-pine ecotone. Hurricanes introduced sediment to the marsh platform, resulting in greater accretion in low marsh plots that had more standing biomass and higher stem densities than high marsh plots. Collectively, these results demonstrate that disturbances can heterogeneously affect surface soil-building processes in marshes through effects on sediment and organic matter accumulation, which may have important consequences for surface elevation maintenance in coastal marshes.

Conservation scientists increasingly recognize that incorporating human values into conservation planning increases the chances for success by garnering broader project acceptance. However, methods for defining quantitative targets for the spatial representation of human well-being priorities are less developed. In this study we employ an approach for identifying regionally important human values and establishing specific spatial targets for their representation based on stakeholder outreach. Our primary objective was to develop a spatially-explicit conservation plan that identifies the most efficient locations for conservation actions to meet ecological goals while sustaining or enhancing human well-being values within the coastal and nearshore areas of the western Lake Erie basin (WLEB). We conducted an optimization analysis using 26 features representing ecological and human well-being priorities (13 of each), and included seven cost layers. The influence that including human well-being had on project results was tested by running five scenarios and setting targets for human well-being at different levels in each scenario. The most important areas for conservation to achieve multiple goals are clustered along the coast, reflecting a concentration of existing or potentially restorable coastal wetlands, coastal landbird stopover habitat and terrestrial biodiversity, as well as important recreational activities. Inland important areas tended to cluster around trails and high quality inland landbird stopover habitat. Most concentrated areas of importance also are centered on lands that are already conserved, reflecting the lower costs and higher benefits of enlarging these conserved areas rather than conserving isolated, dispersed areas. Including human well-being features in the analysis only influenced the solution at the highest target levels.

Fens, which are among the most biodiverse of wetland types in the USA, typically occur in glacial landscapes characterized by geo-morphologic variability at multiple spatial scales. As a result, the hydrologic systems that sustain fens are complex and not well understood. Traditional approaches for characterizing such systems use simplifying assumptions that cannot adequately capture the impact of variability in geology and topography. In this study, a hierarchical, multi-scale groundwater modelling approach coupled with a geologic model is used to understand the hydrology of a fen in Michigan. This approach uses high-resolution data to simulate the multi-scale topographic and hydrologic framework and lithologic data from more than 8500 boreholes in a statewide water well database to capture the complex geology. A hierarchy of dynamically linked models is developed that simulates groundwater flow at all scales of interest and to delineate the areas that contribute groundwater to the fen. The results show the fen receiving groundwater from multiple sources: an adjacent wetland, local recharge, a nearby lake and a regional groundwater mound. Water from the regional mound flows to an intermediate source before reaching the fen, forming a cascading' connection, while other sources provide water through direct' connections. The regional mound is also the source of water to other fens, streams and lakes in this area, thus creating a large, interconnected hydrologic system that sustains the entire ecosystem. In order to sustainably manage such systems, conservation efforts must include both site-based protection and management, as well as regional protection and management of groundwater source areas. Copyright (c) 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Groundwater nitrogen processing was examined in a restored black needlerush (Juncus roemerianus) marsh to assess its potential for removing land-derived nitrogen pollution. Two restoration designs, one initially planted at 50% cover (half density plots) and the other one at 100% cover (full density plots), were compared with non-vegetated controls:111e introduction via groundwater of a NO3- solution with a conservative tracer (Br-) and labeled isotopically (N-15) allowed calculation of nitrogen removal in the plots following two methods. The first method used changes in the ratio [NOx]:[Br-] as the groundwater plume traveled through the plot, and the second method relied on balancing N-15 input with N-15 export. Both methods showed approximate to 97% of the N from the simulated groundwater plume was removed (i.e. not delivered to the open waters of the adjacent estuary) in vegetated plots and approximate to 86% was removed in nonvegetated controls. The most dominkit routes of N removal from the introduced solution were N-2 production and assimilation into macrophyte biomass, which were similar in magnitude for the vegetated plots, whereas N-2 production dominated in the unvegetated plots. The majority of N removed from the introduced solution occurred in the first 30 cm the solution traveled in the vegetated treatments. In addition, ambient porewater concentrations of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) were similar between full and half density plots, but lower than the non-vegetated control (approximate to 8.5 x and 7.5x), suggesting full and half density plots removed more DIN than non-vegetated plots. These results suggest that restoring marshes by planting 50% of the area may be a more cost-effective restoration design in terms of mitigating land-derived nutrient pollution than planting 100% of the area since it requires less effort and cost while removing similar quantities of N. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The sources of water and corresponding delivery mechanisms to groundwater-fed fens are not well understood due to the multi-scale geo-morphologic variability of the glacial landscape in which they occur. This lack of understanding limits the ability to effectively conserve these systems and the ecosystem services they provide, including biodiversity and water provisioning. While fens tend to occur in clusters around regional groundwater mounds, Ives Road Fen in southern Michigan is an example of a geographically-isolated fen. In this paper, we apply a multi-scale groundwater modeling approach to understand the groundwater sources for Ives Road fen. We apply Transition Probability geo-statistics on more than 3000 well logs from a state-wide water well database to characterize the complex geology using conditional simulations. We subsequently implement a 3-dimensional reverse particle tracking to delineate groundwater contribution areas to the fen. The fen receives water from multiple sources: local recharge, regional recharge from an extensive till plain, a regional groundwater mound, and a nearby pond. The regional sources deliver water through a tortuous, 3-dimensional “pipeline” consisting of a confined aquifer lying beneath an extensive clay layer. Water in this pipeline reaches the fen by upwelling through openings in the clay layer. The pipeline connects the geographically-isolated fen to the same regional mound that provides water to other fen clusters in southern Michigan. The major implication of these findings is that fen conservation efforts must be expanded from focusing on individual fens and their immediate surroundings, to studying the much larger and inter-connected hydrologic network that sustains multiple fens.

Ecosystem functional equivalence of constructed and natural intertidal eastern oyster Crassostrea virginica reefs was evaluated over 2 yr using oyster density, taxa richness, phyletic abundance, and carbon and nitrogen stable isotope (delta C-13 and delta N-15) values of faunal assemblages as metrics at 3 sites in Mississippi's Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve. Constructed reefs generally developed higher oyster density, similar or greater taxa richness, and higher phyletic abundance than their natural counterparts over the course of the study. Similar faunal assemblages and food web structures were found between paired constructed and natural reefs, and the stable isotope values for consumers at constructed reefs were not significantly different from those of their natural counterparts. Cluster analysis of delta C-13 and delta N-15 values for the few ubiquitous taxa sampled showed that constructed and natural reef pairs were isotopically more similar within bayous (constructed vs. natural) than among bayous but varied to some extent by year. Consumer delta C-13 values showed larger spatial and temporal differences that were coincident with long-term salinity changes than delta N-15 values, which were similar across sites and time.

One ecological service that oyster reefs provide is stabilization of shorelines through reduced wave energy and erosion from boat traffic, storms, and predominant wind direction. Additionally, increasing sedimentation can enhance the growth of emergent marsh vegetation which further stabilizes unconsolidated sediments. A 21 mo study of constructed (with only 30-35% coverage) and natural oyster reefs in 3 bayous in the Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR) suggested constructed reefs benefit this retrograding deltaic ecosystem. The marsh edge adjacent to all constructed reefs was less eroded (mean = 0.043 m) than edges adjacent to natural reefs (mean = 0.728 m), although all natural and constructed sites, regardless of bayou, illustrated large variations in marsh edge growth. The marsh edge in constructed sites in one bayou retreated more than in the other bayous, most likely due to its coarser sediments, greater boat traffic, and its apparent higher energy location within the landscape. By the end of this study, the ecological function of constructed oyster reefs in all bayous, as measured by marsh edge erosion reduction, was equivalent or exceeded the function in nearby natural oyster reefs. The physical structure of the reef further served to reduce erosion and marsh loss and this approach may be useful for management of a retrograding deltaic estuarine ecosystem like the Grand Bay NERR.