Data from: Priority research questions to generate decision-grade data to enable coastal ecosystems to mitigate the climate and nutrient crises

Nature-Based Solutions, green-finance instruments, and policies are now
routinely constructed around carbon sequestration/storage (CSS) and
nutrient bioremediation (NB). This integration builds on how Market-Based
Instruments (e.g., payments-for-ecosystem-services) are regularly used in
policies focused on terrestrial ecosystems. In marine and coastal systems,
a poor understanding of CSS/NB biophysical processes and impacts of
ecosystem quality/stressors, combined with methods and governance
framework knowledge gaps, generates substantial uncertainty in outcomes.
Reductions in output confidence preclude integration into Nature-Based
Solutions, stifling market-based investment centred on conserving and
restoring temperate coastal ecosystems. To navigate this complex, rapidly
evolving area, researchers from six continents engaged in a Priority
Setting Exercise to generate 25 questions that, if answered within 10
years, will increase robustness, scalability, and applicability of CSS/NB
data across regions and ecosystems. We then used a modal analysis across
five categories (time, geographic scale, technology complexity, cost, and
policy-relevance) to expedite research-investment decisions. Questions
(numbers in brackets) were organised across six themes as follows:
maps/quantitative evidence/long-term data (3), Processes/variability (6),
Connectivity (2), Anthropogenic impacts (4), Methods/standards (6),
Governance/conservation. Questions under methods/standards and
governance/trading schemes themes were generally identified to be the
cheapest to answer and quickest to complete, whilst still having
considerable geographic and policy relevance. Policy implications:
Identifying the enabling conditions for more efficient and successful
approaches will greatly improve our understanding of ecosystem services.
Together, these answers will then deliver the decision-grade data
necessary to strengthen green-finance opportunities and address urgent
climate and pollution (nutrient) crises.