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Updated: Dec 29, 2025

Author Spotlight: Understanding Riverine Nitrogen Impacts and Primary Productivity for Effective Nutrient Management
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Investigating changes in estuarine ecosystem functioning under future scenarios.

Jenny R Hillman1, Fabrice Stephenson2, Simon F Thrush1

  • 1Institute of Marine Science, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, 1142, New Zealand.

Ecological Applications : a Publication of the Ecological Society of America
|February 6, 2020
PubMed
Summary

Estuaries face degradation from land-based inputs. Spatial tools like Zonation can identify priority areas for restoration to improve ecosystem function and services.

Keywords:
Zonationconservation priority areasecosystem functionecosystem processesfuture scenariosintertidal

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Area of Science:

  • Estuarine ecology
  • Environmental management
  • Spatial prioritization

Background:

  • Estuaries are vital ecosystems impacted by land-based sediment and nutrient inputs.
  • These disturbances alter ecosystem functions and services, necessitating effective management strategies.
  • Current spatial mapping tools are limited to well-researched estuaries.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To develop future scenarios of estuarine ecosystem function under environmental degradation.
  • To assess the impact of disturbance scenarios on critical soft-sediment ecosystem processes.
  • To evaluate the utility of spatial prioritization software (Zonation) for identifying restoration priorities.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized empirical data from long-term monitoring and field experiments.
  • Developed future scenarios based on land-use changes and downstream impacts.
  • Applied Zonation software to analyze nutrient fluxes and sediment erodibility under different disturbance scenarios.
  • Investigated impacts of habitat degradation and declining macrofaunal abundance.

Main Results:

  • Disturbance scenarios generally led to decreases in most ecosystem processes.
  • Habitat degradation and reduced macrofaunal abundance negatively affected ecosystem function.
  • Zonation effectively identified shifts in high-value areas for ecosystem function under different scenarios.

Conclusions:

  • Restoring biodiversity and ecosystem function is crucial for estuarine health.
  • Zonation provides a cost-effective method for identifying and prioritizing restoration actions.
  • Spatial prioritization tools are essential for adaptive management of estuaries facing multiple impacts.