Ecosystem service trends in basin-scale restoration initiatives: a review

The integration of ecosystem services in ecological restoration projects presents an opportunity for enhancing benefits to human livelihood and funding sources as well as generating public support for such initiatives. This study reviewed the global trends in integrating ecosystem services in basin-scale restoration projects through bibliographic analysis. Few studies appear to incorporate ecosystem services, possibly due to the inconsistency and absence of the use of universally accepted classifications. Our review notes an increasing trend from 2006 onward toward the inclusion and citation of this concept, although its use is still limited. In this review, the supporting service was found to be the most cited (8), followed by regulatory (3), cultural (1) and provisioning (1) services. Identifying the number of services related to a restoration action was problematic when the services were not explicitly cited. We identify opportunities for increased integration of ecosystem services in basin-scale restoration projects, suggesting a conceptual framework following from new hierarchical maps. This is based on congruence between degrading processes or threat maps (e.g., thresholds of impacts) and ecosystem service maps. The resultant map will facilitate the targeting of threatened service supply at different scales from the basin scale to the scale of the restoration site. We urge the scientific community to standardize definitions and create methodologies and software tools that facilitate the incorporation of ecosystem services in large-scale restoration plans.