Standard Presentation Australian Marine Sciences Association Annual Meeting 2023

Conceptualising wetland restoration feasibility considering biophysical, socioeconomic, and governance constraints (#289)

Renee L Piccolo 1 , Megan I Saunders 2 , Christina Buelow 1 , Benjamin M Brown 3 , Daniel A Friess 4 , Catherine E Lovelock 5 , Christopher J Brown 1
  1. Coastal and Marine Research Centre, Australian Rivers Institute, School of Environment and Science, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
  2. Environment, CSIRO, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
  3. Research Institute for Environment and Livelihoods (RIEL) , Charles Darwin University, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia
  4. Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
  5. School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

Adequate planning is necessary to ensure restoration success. The likelihood of success (i.e., feasibility) of restoration may be qualitatively considered when making decisions around restoration, but quantitative frameworks have not been developed. There are several different feasibility factors, including biophysical, social, governance, resources, and logistical aspects that may co-vary across space. Therefore, it is important that qualitative and quantitative assessments of feasibility are integrated into spatial planning for restoration. We developed a framework for quantifying feasibility for spatial planning of restoration. Then, using mangrove ecosystems as a case-study, we identified windows of feasibility where multiple factors correspond spatially to mean restoration has the greatest chance of success. Finally, we determined what management interventions could jointly improve multiple types of feasibility. We found that considering multiple feasibility factors can geographically restrict restoration. However, feasibility could increase with management interventions including legislation, ecosystem service payments, and education. Understanding the influence of multiple factors during site selection is necessary to inform spatial planning for restoration and to improve success rates of restoration actions.