Ecosystem ServicesPub Date : 2025-06-25DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoser.2025.101748
Sherman Farhad , Julia Baird , Gordon Hickey , Jennifer M. Holzer , Klara Johanna Winkler , Esteban Ruiz-Ballesteros
{"title":"Ecosystem services governance: A cross-realm lever for sustainability transformation","authors":"Sherman Farhad , Julia Baird , Gordon Hickey , Jennifer M. Holzer , Klara Johanna Winkler , Esteban Ruiz-Ballesteros","doi":"10.1016/j.ecoser.2025.101748","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecoser.2025.101748","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The leverage points perspective is used increasingly in sustainability transformation research. Scholars have proposed three realms of leverage for the sustainability research agenda: human-environment interactions; institutional dynamics, and sustainability-related knowledge creation and use. However, studies aiming to better understand the role of cross-realm levers, which create parallel change in human-nature interactions, institutions, and knowledge production and use, remain scarce. To address this research gap, we provide an <em>Ecosystem Services Governance (hereafter, ESGov</em><span><span><sup>1</sup></span></span><em>)</em> lens <em>to</em> conceptually and empirically investigate the potential cross-realm lever role of ESGov for sustainability transformations. Through theoretical and empirical analyses we: 1) identify the key features within the three sustainability transformation realms and analyze how ESGov can shape and influence them; 2) test the potential for ESGov to be a cross-realm lever for sustainability transformation using a case study from Agua Blanca (Ecuador); 3) navigate intra-realm dynamics, identifying features from diverse realms that may simultaneously be fostered by ESGov; and, 4) ultimately, contribute to the transformation, ecosystem services, and governance literatures by highlighting the enabling mechanisms within ESGov that can facilitate cross-realm sustainability transformation interventions. This study reveals that ESGov, when configured to embrace relational thinking, collaborative governance, and inclusive knowledge integration, can effectively serve as a cross-realm lever. Ultimately, we advocate for a shift from Ecosystem Services to ESGov framework as a means to catalyze cross-realm interventions, advancing sustainability through a nuanced understanding and designing of the dynamic interplay between society and the environment.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51312,"journal":{"name":"Ecosystem Services","volume":"74 ","pages":"Article 101748"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-06-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144472459","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ecosystem ServicesPub Date : 2025-06-24DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoser.2025.101749
Henrique Manhique, Frank Wätzold
{"title":"Who should control the provider of ecosystem services in buyer-driven governance? A choice experiment on orchards in Germany","authors":"Henrique Manhique, Frank Wätzold","doi":"10.1016/j.ecoser.2025.101749","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecoser.2025.101749","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Buyer-driven governance arrangements have emerged as a promising innovative approach to mitigate the degradation of ecosystem services (ES) in agricultural landscapes. In such arrangements, ES buyers, such as consumers, support ES provision by remunerating farmers to adopt sustainable agricultural practices through market-based mechanisms, such as price premiums for (certified) sustainably produced products. In this context, effective compliance enforcement is essential, as it assures ES buyers that the services are delivered in accordance with agreed guidelines. Consequently, the level of trust ES buyers place in the organisation responsible for enforcing compliance is critical. We applied a discrete choice experiment to investigate ES buyers’ preferences for the organisation responsible for compliance enforcement for sustainably produced agricultural products. The survey used conventionally managed apple orchards in Germany as a case study and focused on the implementation of ES measures (<em>flower strips, hedgerows, flower strips plus hedgerows</em>, and <em>mechanical weed control</em> instead of chemical control) to support regulating (biological pest control and pollination), cultural (enhancement of landscape aesthetics), and provisioning ES (production of marketable fruits). To elicit preferences regarding compliance enforcement, the survey included four organisations: a <em>state agency</em>, a <em>farmers’ association</em>, a <em>conservation NGO</em>, and a <em>representative body</em> – composed of relevant societal actors collectively responsible for implementing compliance enforcement. The survey included a representative sample of 901 ES buyers (apple consumers) drawn from the German population. We find that most ES buyers trust <em>conservation NGO</em>, <em>representative body,</em> and <em>farmers’ association</em>, while less than half trust <em>state agency</em>; furthermore, ES buyers are willing to pay a substantially higher premium when a trusted organisation is enforcing compliance. Regarding ES measures, we find that ES buyers are willing to pay price premiums for all measures supporting ES provision, with higher premiums for <em>mechanical weed control</em> and the combination <em>flower strips plus hedgerows</em>.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51312,"journal":{"name":"Ecosystem Services","volume":"74 ","pages":"Article 101749"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-06-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144472458","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ecosystem ServicesPub Date : 2025-06-24DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoser.2025.101751
A.N. Neidermeier, T.A.P. West, P.H. Verburg
{"title":"Navigating trade-offs in carbon storage, biodiversity, and wildfire risk in European landscape management","authors":"A.N. Neidermeier, T.A.P. West, P.H. Verburg","doi":"10.1016/j.ecoser.2025.101751","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecoser.2025.101751","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Land use and climate change are driving new dynamics for wildfires and ecosystems globally. In Europe, these drivers contribute to changes in fuel structures which affect the behavior, impact, and recurrence interval of wildfires. In response, there is interest in restoring historic fuel-relevant land management strategies and fire regimes which impact the condition and arrangement of fuels. Simultaneously, ecosystem function (e.g., carbon storage and biodiversity) is a cornerstone for European sustainability and climate adaptation policies such as the Green Deal. Thus, a nuanced approach to landscape management is needed which addresses wildfires concerns while also conserving ecosystem function. Research evaluating the interaction between wildfire and ecological function in Europe has largely been limited to local or regional assessments which can be difficult to translate to European-wide policy initiatives. Our study takes a continental perspective to map areas in which ecosystem function and wildfire may be interacting using data on recent fire activity, aboveground carbon, and biodiversity. We synthesize policy-level considerations for mindfully navigating fire and conservation goals and propose areas which may be suitable for herbivory, mechanical removal, and prescribed burn to manage fuels. Our results highlight several countries, especially in eastern Europe and the Mediterranean, with both high ecosystem function and high fire activity which must be carefully managed to avoid intense and destructive fires in areas of high ecosystem function. Conversely, we identify areas with high fire activity and low carbon storage or biodiversity which may be good candidates for more intensive fuel management with fewer negative ecological consequences. As Europe continues to look to its landscapes to provide a wide range of services, policymakers will need to carefully consider services provided by landscapes to safeguard environmental objectives while managing the deleterious consequences of wildfires.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51312,"journal":{"name":"Ecosystem Services","volume":"74 ","pages":"Article 101751"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-06-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144472457","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ecosystem ServicesPub Date : 2025-06-20DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoser.2025.101744
Harald Zepp , Luis Inostroza , Malte Bührs , Lars Gruenhagen , Christin Busch , Nannan Dong
{"title":"EnhancES − An open source GIS-based toolbox for assessing, mapping and enhancing ecosystem services","authors":"Harald Zepp , Luis Inostroza , Malte Bührs , Lars Gruenhagen , Christin Busch , Nannan Dong","doi":"10.1016/j.ecoser.2025.101744","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecoser.2025.101744","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The transfer of ecosystem service assessments to real-world decision-making in the public and private spheres is lagging. We introduce EnhancES, a toolbox for mapping and assessing ecosystem services developed with the open-source software QGIS. The toolbox can currently assess twelve ecosystem services (ES). We demonstrate how biophysical ES modelling can be integrated into a multistep spatial planning/design process via EnhancES. We used real information from the planning process of a residential area in Bochum, Germany. We compared the expected changes in six ES that emerged from three different urban planning designs submitted as part of an official urban planning competition, plus a revised plan. The gains and losses in standardized ES performance convey a clear message: an overall gain of ES is only possible with the revised plan. Acknowledging ES as a fundamental basis for human well-being should put them at the centre of decision-making, because marginal valuation over different development alternatives is the way forward.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51312,"journal":{"name":"Ecosystem Services","volume":"74 ","pages":"Article 101744"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-06-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144330158","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ecosystem ServicesPub Date : 2025-06-19DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoser.2025.101746
B. Fernández de Manuel , L. Peña , A. Berreteaga , B. Diosdado , J. Laso , I. Ametzaga-Arregi
{"title":"Nature-based solutions for urban challenges: A simple framework based on ecosystem services for a World Heritage City","authors":"B. Fernández de Manuel , L. Peña , A. Berreteaga , B. Diosdado , J. Laso , I. Ametzaga-Arregi","doi":"10.1016/j.ecoser.2025.101746","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecoser.2025.101746","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Urban nature projects are becoming increasingly common in cities as they contribute to reducing the impacts of the climate crisis. In this study, we developed a conceptual framework based on ecosystem services (ESs) to analyse how urban naturalisation actions (nature-based solutions, NBSs) included in urban nature projects contribute to multifunctionality. Here, multifunctionality refers to the capacity to generate multiple simultaneous ESs, indicating the extent to which the challenges identified in a city have been addressed. A multi-criteria analysis based on socioeconomic and environmental criteria, assessed using a series of descriptors linked to ESs, was used to develop a Multifunctionality Nature Project (MuNaP) index. The framework identifies the level of multifunctionality of NBSs and incorporates information for its improvement, if necessary. To validate this proposal, we calculated the multifunctionality of an urban nature project in the World Heritage City of Salamanca, Spain. Among all NBSs used in the project, tree planting was the most multifunctional, whereas the creation of bioretention sites was the least multifunctional. Increasing the values of certain criteria, such as diversity and origins, increased the multifunctionality of the urban nature project. Finally, the MuNaP index has a minimum value that ensures the multifunctionality of an urban nature project, that is, its contributions to biodiversity conservation, provision of multiple ESs, and the well-being of citizens.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51312,"journal":{"name":"Ecosystem Services","volume":"74 ","pages":"Article 101746"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-06-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144313714","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ecosystem ServicesPub Date : 2025-06-17DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoser.2025.101747
E. Tasser , K. Kuhlmann , M.W. Mwanza , M. Schermer , U. Tappeiner , G. Tembo , B.M. Zoderer , U. Schirpke
{"title":"A comparative analysis of ecosystem services perceptions across two regions in Eastern Africa and Central Europe","authors":"E. Tasser , K. Kuhlmann , M.W. Mwanza , M. Schermer , U. Tappeiner , G. Tembo , B.M. Zoderer , U. Schirpke","doi":"10.1016/j.ecoser.2025.101747","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecoser.2025.101747","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Ecosystem services (ES) are crucial for livelihoods, the economy and good quality of life, making them essential for sustaining human well-being. However, perceptions of ES can vary according to economic and social factors. In this study, we compare people’s perceptions of ES across developing and developed countries by exploring local communities and visitors’ socio-cultural values attached to ES in the Eastern Province of Zambia (Eastern Africa) and Tyrol (Central Europe) using questionnaire surveys (N = 243). The results indicate that the respondents’ region of origin, education level, gender, age, and socio-economic status play a significant role in the perception of ES. Provisioning, regulation & maintenance ES are perceived as generally more important in Eastern Africa than in Central Europe, whereas respondents in Central Europe attribute higher importance to cultural ES. For some ES, gender type, age group, living place, and educational level also influence perception. These socio- economic differences are underlined by the ranking of ES in terms of personal importance. In Eastern Africa, the ES ‘food from agriculture’, ‘natural hazard protection’, ‘prevention of water scarcity’ and ‘climate regulation’ are particularly important. In Europe, the most frequently chosen ES are ‘opportunity for leisure activities’ and ‘peaceful places and tranquillity’. Our findings provide insights into the socio-cultural importance of benefits provided by nature across two socio-economic different contexts, suggesting that decision-making processes will need be responsive to context differences and different needs depending on economic and social background.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51312,"journal":{"name":"Ecosystem Services","volume":"74 ","pages":"Article 101747"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-06-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144299001","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ecosystem ServicesPub Date : 2025-06-09DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoser.2025.101745
Gabriela Scheufele , Michael Burton , Ram Pandit
{"title":"On the importance of discrete choice experiment framings to derive accounting values for ecosystem and species appreciation services","authors":"Gabriela Scheufele , Michael Burton , Ram Pandit","doi":"10.1016/j.ecoser.2025.101745","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecoser.2025.101745","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Developing monetary ecosystem accounts requires the estimation of exchange values. While flows of non-use services (e.g., the value derived from the mere existence of a species) are currently not considered as ecosystem services by the United Nations System of Environmental Economic Accounting – Ecosystem Accounts (SEEA – EA) framework, they may be recorded as Ecosystem and Species Appreciation (ESA) services. Estimating exchange values for these services relies on non-market valuation methods. Arguably the most suitable method for this purpose is a Discrete Choice Experiment (DCE). Transforming marginal values obtained from a DCE into exchange values can be complex and presents a range of potential pitfalls. In this paper, we present an approach that allows translating marginal Willingness-To-Pay (WTP) estimates into exchange values for ESA services for representative sets of framings of the DCE valuation question. We show the applicability of this approach using case studies of Australian species and ecosystems, representing both constant and non-constant WTP estimates for choice attributes. It is a relatively flexible approach for estimating exchange values for ESA services.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51312,"journal":{"name":"Ecosystem Services","volume":"74 ","pages":"Article 101745"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-06-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144243139","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ecosystem ServicesPub Date : 2025-06-06DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoser.2025.101741
Greg S. Smith , Stephen B. Stewart , Gabriela Scheufele , David Evans , Ning Liu , Sean Pascoe , Stephen H. Roxburgh , Rebecca K. Schmidt , Michael Vardon
{"title":"Accounting for ecosystem services using extended supply and use tables: A case study of the Murray-Darling Basin, Australia","authors":"Greg S. Smith , Stephen B. Stewart , Gabriela Scheufele , David Evans , Ning Liu , Sean Pascoe , Stephen H. Roxburgh , Rebecca K. Schmidt , Michael Vardon","doi":"10.1016/j.ecoser.2025.101741","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecoser.2025.101741","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We implement natural capital accounts for ecosystem services (ES) using the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting – Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA EA) framework and a case study from the Murray-Darling Basin, Australia. Extended ES supply-use tables are presented that allow for the simultaneous reporting on multiple intermediate and final ES alongside data already available in traditional national economic accounts. We cover the ES of crop provisioning, grazed biomass provisioning, water supply, soil erosion control, recreational fishing, and carbon sequestration and storage. This study shows that extended ES supply-use tables using physical and monetary measures can provide feasible, although not necessarily complete, links between information recorded in the SEEA EA and traditional national economic accounts. It provides an integration of intermediate ES, final ES and produced goods and services in a single table and helps to distinguish benefits from the inputs that create these benefits. Going forward, more integrated recording of the economy and ecosystems’ contributions to wellbeing is needed to better understand the benefits derived from nature.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51312,"journal":{"name":"Ecosystem Services","volume":"74 ","pages":"Article 101741"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-06-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144221531","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ecosystem ServicesPub Date : 2025-05-30DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoser.2025.101734
Tereza Cristina Giannini , Caroline Oliveira Andrino , Rafael Gomes Barbosa-Silva , José A. Bitencourt , Rafael C. Borges , Renata R. Brito , Rosane Cavalcante , Claudia P.W. Costa , Sidnei Dantas , Markus Gastauer , Vitor F. Gomes , Ulysses M. Maia , Felipe Martello , Leonardo Miranda , Sâmia Nunes , Guilherme Oliveira , Amanda Paracampo , Paulo R. Pontes , Silvio Ramos , José E. Santos Jr , Jacobus Biesmeijer
{"title":"Measuring the natural capital of Amazonian forests: A case study of the National Forest of Carajás, Brazil","authors":"Tereza Cristina Giannini , Caroline Oliveira Andrino , Rafael Gomes Barbosa-Silva , José A. Bitencourt , Rafael C. Borges , Renata R. Brito , Rosane Cavalcante , Claudia P.W. Costa , Sidnei Dantas , Markus Gastauer , Vitor F. Gomes , Ulysses M. Maia , Felipe Martello , Leonardo Miranda , Sâmia Nunes , Guilherme Oliveira , Amanda Paracampo , Paulo R. Pontes , Silvio Ramos , José E. Santos Jr , Jacobus Biesmeijer","doi":"10.1016/j.ecoser.2025.101734","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecoser.2025.101734","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We propose an innovative approach that links nature and people to assess the natural capital of tropical forests in the Amazon. Our study location is a protected area inside Eastern Amazon forest, where we defined 14 sampling points and analyzed ten components, which encompass the maintenance of standing forests (nature to itself) and the provision of ecosystem services (nature to people). Five components were used to assess ecosystem functions and five components were used to assess ecosystem services. As for ecosystem functions, we registered 467 species of animals (122 bees, 53 butterflies, 292 birds) and 418 plant species, and a mean interaction diversity of 2.8 (from 480 bee-plant interactions). Based on functional traits, we found that at least 83 % of species must be preserved to guarantee resilience, and that functional diversity relies on 60 % of non-replaceable species. Eleven per cent of birds and 9 % of plants are endangered. As for ecosystem services, carbon storage in soil and vegetation is 41.6 and 173 MgC/ha (on average), respectively. One to four uses by Amazonian traditional communities were reported on 42 % of plants. In the vicinities of the protected area, we found that 66 % of crops (13 from 20 crop species) depend on pollinating bees, and the value of annual crop pollination service is US$4.5Mi. Regarding water protection and local climate regulation, data modelling has shown that the presence of protected forests leads to a 21 % increase in evapotranspiration and a decrease in temperature of 0.4 °C. Our framework showed a clear link between the megadiversity found in Amazonian tropical forest and the robust benefits provided to human welfare, highlighting forest conservation as a key element for sustainable development. Advances in understanding the value of forests stimulate significant new opportunities to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of forest conservation and management policies and decision-making.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51312,"journal":{"name":"Ecosystem Services","volume":"74 ","pages":"Article 101734"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-05-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144687396","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ecosystem ServicesPub Date : 2025-05-30DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoser.2025.101739
Paul E. Carnell , Kym Whiteoak , Mary Young , Kay Critchell , Steve Swearer , Peter I. Macreadie , Josh McIntyre , Eric A Treml
{"title":"Prioritising investment in kelp forest restoration: A spatially explicit benefit-cost analysis in southern Australia","authors":"Paul E. Carnell , Kym Whiteoak , Mary Young , Kay Critchell , Steve Swearer , Peter I. Macreadie , Josh McIntyre , Eric A Treml","doi":"10.1016/j.ecoser.2025.101739","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecoser.2025.101739","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Kelp forests are globally significant ecosystems providing critical ecosystem services, including fish production, nutrient cycling, carbon sequestration, and recreational uses. However, widespread degradation caused by anthropogenic pressures has led to significant declines in kelp forests, necessitating cost-effective restoration strategies. This study performs a spatially explicit benefit-cost analysis of kelp forest restoration in southern Australia to explore how variations in costs and benefits can inform prioritisation of restoration strategies. Costs of ecosystem restoration were calculated based on the time to cull overabundant sea urchins from each location and for active kelp restoration costs. We found that investing in kelp forest restoration at the broad-scale (3,291 ha) returns a positive benefit-cost ratio of 1.10 (where 1.0 is break-even). There was substantial site-specific variation in the benefit-cost ratio (0.33 to 3.4), driven by variation in predicted kelp biomass and thus nitrogen storage benefits ($0 − $105,000 /ha). For culling costs, this varied based on urchin density, the depth (dive time) and travel time to the site. Given this variation, we considered another scenario where only the reefs that returned a positive benefit-cost ration were restored (1,221 ha), which would deliver $92.1 million in benefits, from an investment of $43.9 million and would result in a benefit-cost ratio of 2.10. This research demonstrates how spatial prioritisation can guide investments in marine ecosystem restoration to maximise return on investment. However, while kelp restoration proves beneficial, realising its potential will require robust funding mechanisms (perhaps via market-based incentives), which are currently lacking.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51312,"journal":{"name":"Ecosystem Services","volume":"74 ","pages":"Article 101739"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-05-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144177593","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}