Ecosystem service assessments are a top priority at many reserves in the National Estuarine Research Reserve System.

Cultural ecosystem services (CES), one of four main categories of ecosystem services, are often described as the non-material benefits that humans receive from their interactions with the environment.

This 2022 paper which appeared in Nature discusses a modeling approach to examine the marsh ’s buffering capacity in a changing climate (from 2020 to 2100), considering a potential marsh restoration plan (from 2020 to 2025) and potential marsh loss due to sea-level rise.

This 2021 paper from the University of South Florida discusses how machine learning was used to map aquifers throughout the Kenai Lowlands to locate groundwater discharge, providing a framework to extend this method of modeling groundwater to other reserves.

This 2021 article which appeared in Ecology and Society describes a research project exploring how alders, peatlands, and groundwater flows were incorporated into a spatial tool that was used in case studies with user groups and in outreach efforts. The paper includes evidence that these efforts to engage with stakeholders are resulting in attitudinal shifts as well as on-the-ground changes in peoples ’ decision-making.

This open access article describes an assessment of the storm buffering services provided by Piermont Marsh, New York.