Project Director: Susan Bell

Funding Organization: National Academies of Science, Engineering, Medicine: Gulf Research Program

Funding Cycles: Healthy Ecosystems 3

Description: Seagrass restoration is becoming an increasingly common management component for enhancing ecosystem health within the Gulf of Mexico. However, the various efforts undertaken by different entities have not yet been adequately assessed to learn about their success over time and inform future restoration efforts. This project aims to synthesize unpublished data from past seagrass restoration projects at more than 250 sites along the Florida coast into a single database, conduct on-site visits of selected projects, and convene a workshop involving researchers and restoration practitioners in order to determine best practices for seagrass restoration design and monitoring. The products will be used to improve both the implementation and the assessment of future seagrass restoration efforts.