Integrating societal, stakeholder, and ecological priorities in riparian woodland restoration: making opportunity maps functional

Introduction Large‐scale modeling of opportunities for woodland creation in a U.K. context is responding to government pledges to increase woodland cover from 14.5 to 17.5% by 2050. Such mapping focuses on harnessing ecosystem services but fails to predict outcomes for ecological restoration. There is a need to address trade‐offs between biodiversity conservation and nature‐based solutions, as highlighted in recent reports by the Intergovernmental Science‐Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Objectives This paper explores the limitations of current approaches to modeling woodland restoration opportunities and the possibility of leveraging spatial‐ecological and spatially explicit deliberative methods to increase the functionality of opportunity mapping. Methods Proposed riparian woodland creation sites in Grasmere (United Kingdom) were identified through the delineation of a variable width riparian zone and the application of land use constraints employed in other large‐scale woodland opportunity mapping in the United Kingdom. Riparian woodland creation was simulated, emphasizing alternately environmental goals (water quality management and bank stability), ecological function (habitat quality), and stakeholder preference. Results This approach integrates environmental, ecological, and stakeholder priorities into a spatially explicit evaluation of habitat restoration opportunities. It is able to anticipate the interaction between these different dimensions, potential trade‐offs, and subsequent impacts on ecological processes of interest. Conclusions This paper articulates the shortcomings of available approaches to modeling opportunities for habitat creation, identifies objectives for the development of more integrated methods, and demonstrates how promising recent developments and avenues of inquiry can help to meet these objectives.