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Positive Ecological Interactions And The Success Of Seagrass Restoration, Stephanie R. Valdez, Y. Stacy Zhang, Tjisse Van Der Heide, Mathew A. Vanderklift, Flavia Tarquinio, R J. Orth, Brian R. Silliman

VIMS Articles

Seagrasses provide multiple ecosystem services including nursery habitat, improved water quality, coastal protection, and carbon sequestration. However, seagrasses are in crisis as global coverage is declining at an accelerating rate. With increased focus on ecological restoration as a conservation strategy, methods that enhance restoration success need to be explored. Decades of work in coastal plant ecosystems, including seagrasses, has shown that positive species relationships and feedbacks are critical for ecosystem stability, expansion, and recovery from disturbance. We reviewed the restoration literature on seagrasses and found few studies have tested for the beneficial effects of including positive species interactions in seagrass …