Assessing long-term restoration effectiveness in urban coastal ecosystems: Insights from Wuyuan Bay, China
6 affiliations
- 1Key Laboratory of Marine Ecological Conservation and Restoration, Third Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Xiamen, 361005, China; College of Ocean and Earth Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005, China
- 2Key Laboratory of Marine Ecological Conservation and Restoration, Third Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Xiamen, 361005, China
- 3Xiamen University of Technology, Xiamen, 361024, China
- 4College of Ocean and Earth Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005, China
- 5Key Laboratory of Marine Ecological Conservation and Restoration, Third Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Xiamen, 361005, China; Correspondence to: 178 Daxue Road, Xiamen 361005, China.
- 6Observation and Research Station of Island and Coastal Ecosystems in the Western Taiwan Strait, Ministry of Natural Resources, Xiamen, 361005, China; Correspondence to: 178 Daxue Road, Xiamen 361005, China.
Abstract
Urban coastal restoration is essential for maintaining ecosystem health while meeting societal needs. However, evaluation of its multidimensional outcomes remains limited. This study assessed the long-term restoration effectiveness of Wuyuan Bay, one of China’s earliest urban coastal restoration initiatives, using a multidimensional framework tailored to its restoration objectives. This framework included ecological environmental quality, ecosystem process, and cultural ecosystem service. We quantified restoration effectiveness from 2000 to 2020, examined synergies among the three modules, and assessed spatial spillover effects. Recovery across indicators and modules was asynchronous. Seven of the eight indicators exhibited varying degrees of improvement. Nutrient-related indicators and cultural ecosystem services improved rapidly, with an increase of 0.41–0.64. Meanwhile, dissolved oxygen and benthic species richness declined initially and recovered slowly. At the module level, the cultural ecosystem service exhibited the greatest improvement, followed by ecological environmental quality, and ecosystem process. The phased analysis of integrated effectiveness showed a pronounced lag effect. The integrated assessment score increased by 64.40% over the 20-year period with over 80% of this improvement occurred in the decade following restoration rather than immediately after restoration, which highlighted the necessity of long-term monitoring and assessment of restoration projects. Synergy analysis indicated the strongest coupling between ecological environmental quality and ecosystem process, with other module relationships evolving. Restoration-associated positive changes showed a spatial distance-decay pattern extending to approximately one km from the intervention sites. Overall, our study showed that different dimensions of coastal ecosystem restoration recovered at varying rates and exhibited dynamic interconnections, providing scientific evidence to support long-term assessment and adaptive management of urban coastal restoration.
Related
- Hierarchical toolbox: Ensuring scientific accuracy of citizen science for tropical coastal ecosystems
- Potential of the bivalve Perna perna as bioindicator of eutrophication in tropical coastal ecosystems: carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes, fatty acids and shell morphometry
- Urbanization impacts avian biodiversity on stream ecosystems-insights from a large geographical
- Steady-state semi-analytical solutions for assessing the shape of the freshwater–seawater interface induced by a finite-sized underground physical barrier and a pumping well in a sloping coastal aquifer
- Spatial structuring dominates over seasonality in tropical coastal microbiomes: Insights from New Caledonia's Indo‐Pacific lagoon
BibTeX
@article{guo2026assessing,
title = {{Assessing long-term restoration effectiveness in urban coastal ecosystems: Insights from Wuyuan Bay, China}},
author = {Xinyuan Guo and Jianji Liao and Jinquan Liu and Yanhong Lin and Zhiyuan Ma and Jianhua Kang and Jiamei Xiao and Wenjing Zhang and Jiarui Yu and Wenjia Hu and Bin Chen},
journal = {Global Ecology and Conservation},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1016/j.gecco.2026.e04482},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2026.e04482},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Assessing long-term restoration effectiveness in urban coastal ecosystems: Insights from Wuyuan Bay, China
AU - Xinyuan Guo
AU - Jianji Liao
AU - Jinquan Liu
AU - Yanhong Lin
AU - Zhiyuan Ma
AU - Jianhua Kang
AU - Jiamei Xiao
AU - Wenjing Zhang
AU - Jiarui Yu
AU - Wenjia Hu
AU - Bin Chen
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/31
JO - Global Ecology and Conservation
DO - 10.1016/j.gecco.2026.e04482
UR - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2026.e04482
AB - Urban coastal restoration is essential for maintaining ecosystem health while meeting societal needs. However, evaluation of its multidimensional outcomes remains limited. This study assessed the long-term restoration effectiveness of Wuyuan Bay, one of China’s earliest urban coastal restoration initiatives, using a multidimensional framework tailored to its restoration objectives. This framework included ecological environmental quality, ecosystem process, and cultural ecosystem service. We quantified restoration effectiveness from 2000 to 2020, examined synergies among the three modules, and assessed spatial spillover effects. Recovery across indicators and modules was asynchronous. Seven of the eight indicators exhibited varying degrees of improvement. Nutrient-related indicators and cultural ecosystem services improved rapidly, with an increase of 0.41–0.64. Meanwhile, dissolved oxygen and benthic species richness declined initially and recovered slowly. At the module level, the cultural ecosystem service exhibited the greatest improvement, followed by ecological environmental quality, and ecosystem process. The phased analysis of integrated effectiveness showed a pronounced lag effect. The integrated assessment score increased by 64.40% over the 20-year period with over 80% of this improvement occurred in the decade following restoration rather than immediately after restoration, which highlighted the necessity of long-term monitoring and assessment of restoration projects. Synergy analysis indicated the strongest coupling between ecological environmental quality and ecosystem process, with other module relationships evolving. Restoration-associated positive changes showed a spatial distance-decay pattern extending to approximately one km from the intervention sites. Overall, our study showed that different dimensions of coastal ecosystem restoration recovered at varying rates and exhibited dynamic interconnections, providing scientific evidence to support long-term assessment and adaptive management of urban coastal restoration.
SN - 2351-9894
ER -