Data from: The cost and feasibility of marine coastal restoration

Land-use change in the coastal zone has led to worldwide degradation of marine coastal ecosystems and a loss of the goods and services they provide. Restoration is the process of assisting the recovery of an ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged, or destroyed and is critical for habitats where natural recovery is hindered. Uncertainties about restoration cost and feasibility can impede decisions on whether, what, how, where, and how much to restore. Here, we perform a synthesis of 235 studies with 954 observations from restoration or rehabilitation projects of coral reefs, seagrass, mangroves, saltmarshes, and oyster reefs worldwide, and evaluate cost, survival of restored organisms, project duration, area, and techniques applied. Findings showed that while the median and average reported costs for restoration of one hectare of marine coastal habitat were around US$80 000 (2010) and US$1 600 000 (2010), respectively, the real total costs (median) are likely to be two to four times higher. Coral reefs and seagrass were among the most expensive ecosystems to restore. Mangrove restoration projects were typically the largest and the least expensive per hectare. Most marine coastal restoration projects were conducted in Australia, Europe, and USA, while total restoration costs were significantly (up to 30 times) cheaper in countries with developing economies. Community- or volunteer-based marine restoration projects usually have lower costs. Median survival of restored marine and coastal organisms, often assessed only within the first one to two years after restoration, was highest for saltmarshes (64.8%) and coral reefs (64.5%) and lowest for seagrass (38.0%). However, success rates reported in the scientific literature could be biased towards publishing successes rather than failures. The majority of restoration projects were short-lived and seldom reported monitoring costs. Restoration success depended primarily on the ecosystem, site selection, and techniques applied rather than on money spent. We need enhanced investment in both improving restoration practices and large-scale restoration.

海岸带土地利用变化已导致全球范围内海洋海岸生态系统退化，以及其所提供的生态系统产品与服务流失。生态修复（Restoration）是指辅助受损、破坏或毁坏的生态系统实现恢复的过程，对于自然恢复受阻的生境而言至关重要。修复成本与可行性方面的不确定性，会阻碍关于是否修复、修复何种生态系统、如何修复、在何处修复以及修复规模的决策制定。本研究对全球范围内珊瑚礁、海草、红树林、盐沼及牡蛎礁的修复或重建项目的235项研究、共计954条观测数据进行了整合分析，并对修复成本、修复生物体存活率、项目周期、修复面积及所采用的技术进行了评估。研究结果显示，尽管报道的每公顷海洋海岸生境修复成本的中位数与均值分别约为8万美元（2010年币值）与160万美元（2010年币值），但实际总成本（中位数）可能高出2至4倍。珊瑚礁与海草生境是修复成本最高的生态系统之一。红树林修复项目通常规模最大，且单位公顷修复成本最低。全球多数海洋海岸修复项目集中于澳大利亚、欧洲及美国，而发展中经济体国家的修复总成本显著更低（最高可低30倍）。基于社区或志愿者的海洋修复项目通常成本更低。修复后的海洋与海岸生物体的存活率中位数（通常仅在修复后的1至2年内进行评估）以盐沼最高（64.8%）、珊瑚礁次之（64.5%），海草最低（38.0%）。不过，科学文献中报道的修复成功率可能存在发表偏倚，即更倾向于报道成功案例而非失败案例。多数修复项目存续时间较短，且极少报道监测成本。修复成功与否主要取决于生态系统类型、选址及所采用的技术，而非投入的资金规模。我们需要加大投入，以优化修复实践并推进大规模生态修复工作。