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A Cost-evaluation Technique for Restoration of Seagrass and Other Plant Communities

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 August 2009

Mark S. Fonseca
Affiliation:
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service, Southeast Fisheries Center, Beaufort Laboratory, Beaufort, North Carolina 28516, USA.
W. Judson Kenworthy
Affiliation:
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service, Southeast Fisheries Center, Beaufort Laboratory, Beaufort, North Carolina 28516, USA.
Ronald C. Phillips
Affiliation:
Department of Natural and Mathematical Life Sciences, Seattle Pacific University, Seattle, Washington 98119, USA.

Extract

Coastal habitat loss must be reduced either through conservation or mitigative efforts. Implementation of mitigation depends largely on accurate cost-assessment of the projects that are involved. We centre our discussion here on seagrass transplanting as an exemplary mitigative tool.

The technology of restoring seagrass communities has received increasing attention in recent years. However, the methods used have had varying degrees of success, a largely unknown factor being the cost of the technique that is used.

In this paper is presented a universal format that includes consideration of the essential factors in our costanalysis, such as planning, planting, and monitoring activities, geographic location, tidal influence, labour, and materials (both expendable and non-expendable). Cost per (successfully established) shoot or seed or fruit is recommended as the best indicator of cost effectiveness for a given technique. Incorporation and presentation of this information is urged in future projects to motivate wider application of seagrass and other essential plantcommunity restoration.

Type
Main Papers
Copyright
Copyright © Foundation for Environmental Conservation 1982

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