The Use of Ecological Data in the Implementation and Management of Seagrass Restorations

Fonseca, Mark; Thayer, Gordon; Kenworthy, W.

Effective restoration of seagrass systems can be implemented best through incorporation of basic ecological data into decision-making processes. The data are comprised mainly of seagrass population growth and coverage models. Careful selection of a site to be transplanted and monitored under strict performance standards offers functional restoration of a system. Environmental factors such as light, temperature, salinity, tidal range, and sediment stability may be used to determine a priori whether seagrass growth could be supported at a given site. On-site restoration directly addresses a return of ecosystem productivity. From an ecological perspective, off-impact-site restoration often results in the selection of sites unacceptable as a mitigative tradeoff. Our data suggest that unvegetated patches among natural meadows should not be transplanted as a method to compensate for destruction of existing meadows. Most important for effective management is the utilization of seagrass-population-growth models in the planning process. These data allow 1) selection of the appropriate species for the site in question, 2) setting of precise and testable performance standards, 3) accurate planning of the transplanting operation, including spacing between plantings, 4) development of a monitoring program, and 5) an objective determination by regulatory agencies as to when compliance has been achieved.