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 80,000 US$ (2010) and 1,600,000 US$ (2010) respectively, the real total costs (median) are likely to be 2-4 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 1-2 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引发全球范围内海洋沿岸生态系统的退化，以及其所提供的生态系统服务与产品的流失。生态修复是指辅助受损、破坏或毁坏的生态系统恢复其功能的过程，对于自然恢复能力受阻的生境而言至关重要。修复成本与可行性的不确定性，会阻碍关于是否开展修复、修复何种生态对象、如何实施修复、在何处开展修复以及修复规模的决策制定。本研究对全球范围内235项涉及珊瑚礁（Coral Reefs）、海草（Seagrass）、红树林（Mangroves）、盐沼（Saltmarshes）以及牡蛎礁（Oyster Reefs）修复或重建项目的研究进行了综合分析，共计纳入954组观测数据，并对修复成本、修复生物体存活率、项目周期、修复面积以及所采用的技术展开评估。研究结果显示，尽管已报道的单公顷海洋沿岸生境修复成本的中位数与均值分别约为80000美元（2010年币值）与1600000美元（2010年币值），但实际总成本（中位数）大概率将高出2至4倍。珊瑚礁与海草床是修复成本最高的几类生态系统之一。红树林修复项目通常规模最大，且单位公顷修复成本最低。多数海洋沿岸修复项目开展于澳大利亚、欧洲与美国，而发展中经济体国家的总修复成本显著更低，最高可相差30倍。基于社区或志愿者的海洋修复项目通常成本更低。修复后海洋与沿岸生物的中位存活率（通常仅在修复后1至2年内进行评估）以盐沼（64.8%）与珊瑚礁（64.5%）为最高，海草床（38.0%）为最低。不过，科学文献中报道的修复成功率可能存在发表偏倚，即更倾向于刊载成功案例而非失败案例。多数修复项目存续时间较短，且极少报告监测相关成本。修复成功与否主要取决于生态系统类型、生境选址以及所采用的技术，而非投入的资金数额。我们需要加大投入，以优化修复实践并推进大规模海洋沿岸生态修复工作。