Table_1_Review of Coast and Marine Ecosystems in Temperate Australia Demonstrates a Wealth of Ecosystem Services.XLSX

Temperate Australia has extensive and diverse coast and marine habitats throughout its inshore and offshore waters. The region includes the southernmost extent of mangroves, over 500 estuaries and coastal embayments, home to extensive meadows of seagrasses and tidal saltmarsh. In areas of hard substrate, rocky reefs are abundant and productive with large forests of macroalgae. Coastal regions can be densely populated by humans and often habitats can be degraded, polluted or lost, while some remain relatively isolated and pristine. These habitats provide services to society including provision of food, regulate our climate through sequestration of carbon, treating our waste and protecting our shorelines from damage from storms. Coastal areas are culturally importantly hubs for recreation and tourism. Habitat mapping demonstrates diverse habitats throughout temperate Australia, but a formal investigation of services provided by these habitats has been lacking. This review of ecosystem services provided by coast and marine environments throughout temperate Australia reveals vast and productive ecosystems that provide multiple ecosystem services, substantial value to the Australian economy and contribute to the health and well-being of people who live in, visit of benefit from services or products from these regions. Some of these are considered within traditional economic metrics such as provision of wild catch fisheries, but this review demonstrates that regulation and maintenance services including waste treatment and protecting shorelines from extreme events are under recognized, and their value is substantial. However, consistent with many locations globally, coast and marine habitats are under threat from increasing development, sewage, agricultural, industrial discharges, urban runoff and climate change. Resultantly, temperate Australian coast and marine habitat extent and condition is generally declining in many regions, putting the provision of services and benefits to the community at risk. Continued degraded or lost habitats indicate current management frameworks are not capturing the full risk from development and there are winners and losers in trade off decision making. Incorporating ecosystem services in decision making may allow an integrated approach to management, and acknowledgment of services provided could prevent habitats from being undervalued against economic and social interests, a practice that often results in environmental degradation.

温带澳大利亚的近岸与远洋水域中，分布着广袤多样的海岸与海洋生境。该区域涵盖红树林的最南分布界，拥有500余处河口与海湾，孕育了大面积海草床与潮间带盐沼（tidal saltmarsh）。在硬质底质区域，岩礁广布且生产力旺盛，伴生大片大型藻类（macroalgae）林。沿海区域人类活动密集，不少生境常出现退化、污染或丧失的情况，但仍有部分区域相对隔绝且保持原生状态。此类生境可为人类社会提供多重服务：包括食物供给、通过碳封存调节气候、净化废弃物，以及保护海岸线免受风暴破坏。沿海区域同时也是休闲与旅游的重要文化枢纽。现有生境制图结果显示温带澳大利亚的生境类型多样，但针对此类生境所提供服务的系统性正式研究仍有所欠缺。本综述针对温带澳大利亚海岸与海洋环境提供的生态系统服务（ecosystem services）展开分析，结果显示该区域拥有广袤且高生产力的生态系统，不仅可提供多重生态系统服务，为澳大利亚经济创造可观价值，还能为居住于此、到访于此或从该区域服务与产品中获益的人群的健康与福祉作出贡献。其中部分服务（如野生捕捞渔业）已被纳入传统经济核算体系，但本综述表明，包括废弃物净化与海岸线防护在内的调节与维持类服务尚未得到足够重视，但其价值实则不菲。然而，与全球多数区域一样，温带澳大利亚的海岸与海洋生境正面临日益加剧的开发、污水排放、农业与工业排污、城市径流以及气候变化带来的威胁。受此影响，温带澳大利亚多数区域的海岸与海洋生境面积与整体状况均呈下降趋势，这使得生境服务的供给以及社区所能获得的福祉面临风险。生境持续退化或丧失的现状表明，当前的管理框架未能全面覆盖开发活动带来的全部风险，而在权衡决策中总会出现获益方与受损方。将生态系统服务纳入决策流程，或可推动综合化的管理路径；而正视各类生境服务的价值，则能避免其在经济与社会利益的考量中被低估——这种低估往往会导致环境退化。