Multiscale analysis of restoration priorities for marine shoreline planning.
Planners are being called on to prioritize marine shorelines for conservation status and restoration action. This study documents an approach to determining the management strategy most likely to succeed based on current conditions at local and landscape scales. The conceptual framework based in restoration ecology pairs appropriate restoration strategies with sites based on the likelihood of producing long-term resilience given the condition of ecosystem structures and processes at three scales: the shorezone unit (site), the drift cell reach (nearshore marine landscape), and the watershed (terrestrial landscape). The analysis is structured by a conceptual ecosystem model that identifies anthropogenic impacts on targeted ecosystem functions. A scoring system, weighted by geomorphic class, is applied to available spatial data for indicators of stress and function using geographic information systems. This planning tool augments other approaches to prioritizing restoration, including historical conditions and change analysis and ecosystem valuation.
Diefenderfer
Heida L
HL
Marine Sciences Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Sequim, WA, 98382, USA. heida.diefenderfer@pnl.gov
Sobocinski
Kathryn L
KL
Thom
Ronald M
RM
May
Christopher W
CW
Borde
Amy B
AB
Southard
Susan L
SL
Vavrinec
John
J
Sather
Nichole K
NK
D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D017753:Ecosystem; D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D040362:Geographic Information Systems; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D012623:Seawater; D053833:Wetlands
D004785:Environmental Pollutants