SMART indicators for quantifying wetland resilience and services and relevance to Action Sites

D1.1 will examine the baseline data and identify indicators that can be used to demonstrate and measure change in the key characteristics that provide for resilience in wetland ecosystems and which permit them to provide beneficial ecosystem services. These indicators will form the basis of a framework to monitor the wetlands’ changing status along a trajectory of post-restoration recovery. For this task, we will combine literature-based knowledge with existing and process-based data from the Knowledge Sites covering a range of degradation and restoration states in palustrine and estuarine European wetland types, as well as land-use and climate indicators. We will likewise develop quantitative measures to assess progress towards target states for key ecosystem services. These targets, and trajectories toward the target state, will be defined and finalised in cooperation with WP2, 3 and 4, taking account of the objectives of the EU Green Deal and the EU Biodiversity Strategy. Targets will be linked to existing conditions and to Natura 2000 habitat types and their configuration at a landscape scale, and be oriented towards the provision of, and potential for, desired ecosystem services.At site level, the first step will be to use easy-to-measure environmental indicators related to ecosystem structure (cover of relevant plant functional groups, such as Sphagnum mosses, shrubs, sedges), biodiversity (flora, birds, insects, mammals), soil (e.g. pH, organic matter content), water status (abundance of open water, mean water level, water level range) and their dynamics. To further connect the ecosystem structure with functions we will use a functional trait approach in which measurable indicators are calculated based on plant composition at different spatial scales. Drawing on existing knowledge and literature, a set of traits will be defined as a proxy for key ecosystem services, including carbon sequestration, litter decomposability with climate service, provision of habitat for fauna, and pollination. The traits will be measured at selected Knowledge Sites and linked with the ecosystem services which can be measured by ongoing projects at these sites. We will also use these traits to define resilience, the operating space that allows the ecosystem to maintain its functioning under various pressures, and functional diversity at different trophic levels. The data collected will be added to existing trait data bases that can be used in combination with repeated vegetation composition surveys to evaluate restoration success. At a landscape level, we will use spatial patterns of vegetation, landforms and connectivity between habitats as indicators of wetland functioning and resilience .We will identify trajectories leading towards the desired target states by analysing change in the indicators in response to the restoration actions which have occurred in selected Knowledge Sites. We will use successfully restored sites to enable us to define process indicators for desired and undesired trajectories. The usability of these process indicators will be evaluated by an expert survey of wetland researchers and wetland practitioners (Task 1.2). The indicators of services and resilience will be applied to the Action Sites.This new way of developing indicators of ecosystem functioning is much more promising than current approaches in wetland restoration. Instead of focussing on the traditional detection of particular species, we will develop generic indicators of wetland functions that can be matched better with ecosystem services and scaled up at European level and beyond.