Journal
SCIENCE ADVANCES
Volume 6, Issue 41, Pages -Publisher
AMER ASSOC ADVANCEMENT SCIENCE
DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abc6434
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Categories
Funding
- National Science Foundation [DEB-0621014, DEB-1237733, DEB-1832221]
- Virginia Department of Environmental Quality by Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972
- Virginia Recreational Fishing License Fund
- American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
- Virginia Sea Grant
- Nature Conservancy
- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
- Virginia Department of Transportation
- Allied-Signal Foundation
- Norfolk-Southern
- Keith Campbell Foundation for the Environment
- [NA09NMF4630308]
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There have been increasing attempts to reverse habitat degradation through active restoration, but few large-scale successes are reported to guide these efforts. Here, we report outcomes from a unique and very successful seagrass restoration project: Since 1999, over 70 million seeds of a marine angiosperm, eelgrass (Zostera marina), have been broadcast into mid-western Atlantic coastal lagoons, leading to recovery of 3612 ha of seagrass. Well-developed meadows now foster productive and diverse animal communities, sequester substantial stocks of carbon and nitrogen, and have prompted a parallel restoration for bay scallops (Argopecten irradians). Restored ecosystem services are approaching historic levels, but we also note that managers value services differently today than they did nine decades ago, emphasizing regulating in addition to provisioning services. Thus, this study serves as a blueprint for restoring and maintaining healthy ecosystems to safeguard multiple benefits, including co-benefits that may emerge as management priorities over time.
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