Modeling The Human Well Being Benefits Of Ecosystem Restoration And Management For Environmental Decision Making

Human well-being is inextricably linked to the condition of the natural environment. Environmental management decisions often aim to maintain ecosystems in a healthy and resilient condition while providing the ecosystem goods and services that humans want and need. Models, methods, frameworks, and metrics are needed to characterize and forecast the potential benefits from remediation, restoration, and revitalization that improve human health and well-being through the delivery of ecosystem services. However, ecosystems are complex, and layering on social and economic considerations can make environmental decision-making seem intractable. Dynamics of socio-ecological systems are complicated, making models a pivotal tool for identifying and quantifying relationships, assessing historical patterns, and forecasting alternative decision scenarios. The goal of this Research Topic is to leverage modeling approaches to provide science-based evidence, metrics, and frameworks and methods for quantifying how restored ecosystem goods and services lead to benefits for public health, community well-being, and economic vitality. Modeling approaches may range in complexity from conceptual models to statistical models to dynamic process models, empirically-derived to mechanistic to participatory. Research will evaluate connections between ecosystem condition, ecosystem services, and human health and well-being, and may include covarying socio-economic or biophysical factors that modify relationships between ecosystem health and perceived or realized benefits. Applications or case studies will demonstrate how to integrate community priorities with nature-based solutions to enhance benefits of environmental remediation, ecological restoration, community revitalization, and climate resilience decisions.