Brady Couvillion Imtiaz Hossain Carola Kaiser Alaina Owens Gregory D. Steyer Jenneke M. Visser Robert Twilley 2008 <p>The development of ecosystem management plans to restore and rehabilitate&nbsp;natural resources requires an understanding of how specific ecological mechanisms regulate the structure and function of ecosystems. To achieve restoration goals, comprehensive&nbsp;plans and engineering designs must effectively change environmental drivers at the regional<br>level to reduce stress conditions at the local environment that are responsible for ecosystem&nbsp;degradation. This document focuses on the Coastal Louisiana Ecosystem Assessment and&nbsp;Restoration (CLEAR) ecosystem forecasting framework and how it can be used to support&nbsp;the analysis of Louisiana’s coastal restoration plans. Specifically, the framework is designed&nbsp;to (1) develop and incorporate conceptual ecological models that can be used to integrate&nbsp;ecological needs and opportunities with engineering designs, (2) utilize wetland loss rates&nbsp;to describe the most likely “future without” scenario for a variety of ecosystem attributes,&nbsp;(3) estimate broad ecosystem responses to restoration alternatives based on processes associated with succession of geomorphic and ecological systems, and (4) calculate ecological&nbsp;benefits for incorporation into decision support tools associated with large-scale geomorphic&nbsp;and hydrologic processes. This paper provides a brief overview of the spatial framework and&nbsp;modular design of the CLEAR ecosystem forecasting framework and describes in greater&nbsp;detail the evolution of the landscape change module, concepts for its refinement, and how it&nbsp;was utilized in evaluating a coastal restoration alternative proposed in the Coastal Protection&nbsp;and Restoration Authority Preliminary Draft Master Plan. Such projections by the CLEAR&nbsp;forecasting framework can evaluate processes and conditions that result in sustainable coastal&nbsp;ecosystems with habitat functions that support higher trophic levels.</p> application/pdf en American Fisheries Society Coastal Louisiana ecosystem assessment and restoration program: The role of ecosystem forecasting in evaluating restoration planning in the Mississippi River Deltaic Plain text