Data from: Priority research questions to generate decision-grade data to enable coastal ecosystems to mitigate the climate and nutrient crises

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Nature-Based Solutions, green-finance instruments, and policies are now routinely constructed around carbon sequestration/storage (CSS) and nutrient bioremediation (NB). This integration builds on how Market-Based Instruments (e.g., payments-for-ecosystem-services) are regularly used in policies focused on terrestrial ecosystems. In marine and coastal systems, a poor understanding of CSS/NB biophysical processes and impacts of ecosystem quality/stressors, combined with methods and governance framework knowledge gaps, generates substantial uncertainty in outcomes. Reductions in output confidence preclude integration into Nature-Based Solutions, stifling market-based investment centred on conserving and restoring temperate coastal ecosystems. To navigate this complex, rapidly evolving area, researchers from six continents engaged in a Priority Setting Exercise to generate 25 questions that, if answered within 10 years, will increase robustness, scalability, and applicability of CSS/NB data across regions and ecosystems. We then used a modal analysis across five categories (time, geographic scale, technology complexity, cost, and policy-relevance) to expedite research-investment decisions. Questions (numbers in brackets) were organised across six themes as follows: maps/quantitative evidence/long-term data (3), Processes/variability (6), Connectivity (2), Anthropogenic impacts (4), Methods/standards (6), Governance/conservation. Questions under methods/standards and governance/trading schemes themes were generally identified to be the cheapest to answer and quickest to complete, whilst still having considerable geographic and policy relevance. Policy implications: Identifying the enabling conditions for more efficient and successful approaches will greatly improve our understanding of ecosystem services. Together, these answers will then deliver the decision-grade data necessary to strengthen green-finance opportunities and address urgent climate and pollution (nutrient) crises. # Data from: Priority research questions to generate decision-grade data to enable coastal ecosystems to mitigate the climate and nutrient crises Dataset DOI: [10.5061/dryad.pk0p2nh3w](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.pk0p2nh3w) README to accompany data in: Watson_et_al._PSE_data_for_archiving_2026.xlsx Watson_et_al._PSE_data_for_archiving_2026_CSV.csv Prior to participation, all participants signed a declaration that included the following statement. All data will be either collected or transferred into an electronic format. Removing all identifiable information, all data will be completely anonymised, acknowledging the Data Protection Act (1998) and more recent General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679. Data were de-identified by replacing names with a number prior to archiving in Dryad Tab 1: Rank Qs. After the workshop, the remaining questions (column C) from each theme were combined into one spreadsheet (44 questions altogether, original question numbers of the 248 long list are in column A, with the primary theme in column B). Scores were received from 32 participants (columns D to AI) to independently select the final top 25 and totaled in column AJ. Tab 2: Qs ranked Dataset from Tab 1 was ranked by total score (Column AJ). Questions 1 to 24 are highlighted in yellow, with five questions (highlighted in brown) sharing the 25th position. Tab 3: Rank 17 shared. Twenty-eight participants then ranked the five that shared position 25, from which the highest scoring question (108) was added to generate the final list of 25. Tab 4: Final25. These are the final 25 questions taken forward to the paper, grouped by theme (column B). Themes were generated prior to the workshop to help structure the discussions and voting processes. Retaining them helps interpretation, but also highlights common themes across coastal ecosystems, reflected in other priority question studies. ## Human subjects data Prior to participation all participants signed a declaration which included the following statement. All data will be either collected or transferred into an electronic format. Removing all identifiable information, all data will be completely anonymised, acknowledging the Data Protection Act (1998) and more recent General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679. Data were de-identified by replacing names with a number prior to archiving in Dryad

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External Organisations
University of Portsmouth; Centre for the Environment Fisheries and Aquaculture Science; Joint Nature Conservation Committee; University of Plymouth; University of St Andrews; Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi; Plymouth Marine Laboratory; UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology; Universidad de la República; Harokopio University; University of Hull; Boston University; Nature Conservancy; University of Auckland; University of East Anglia; University of Aveiro; University of Salford; Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University; Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata; Environment Agency; University of Helsinki; Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung, Ecological Chemistry; Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn Napoli; Scanis Consulting; Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas; Marine Biological Association; International Estuarine & Coastal Specialists (IECS) Ltd.; University of Cambridge; Swansea University; Yorkshire wildlife trust; Stellenbosch University; University of Leeds; University of Edinburgh

Associated Persons
Ruth Parker (Creator)Gordon Watson (Creator); John Aldridge (Creator); Louise Anderson (Creator); Martin Attrill (Creator); William Austin (Creator); Keisha Bahr (Creator); Nicola Beaumont (Creator); Stefanie Broszeit (Creator); Annette Burden (Creator); Estela Delgado-Gargiulo (Creator); Evangelia Drakou (Creator); Mike Elliott (Creator); Robinson Fulweiler (Creator); Angus Garbutt (Creator); Boze Hancock (Creator); Joerg Hardege (Creator); Joanna Harley (Creator); Ian Hendy (Creator); Jenny Hillman (Creator); Tim Jickells (Creator); Ana Lillebø (Creator); Mariana do Amaral Camara Lima (Creator); Peter Macreadie (Creator); Paulina Martinetto (Creator); Jackie Mellan (Creator); Alf Norkko (Creator); Bernadette Pogoda (Creator); Jennifer Beseres Pollack (Creator); Joanne Preston (Creator); Federica Ragazzola (Creator); Justine Saunders (Creator); Oscar Serrano (Creator); Dan Smale (Creator); Gemma Smith (Creator); Ann Thornton (Creator); Simon Thrush (Creator); Heidi Tillin (Creator); Richard Unsworth (Creator); Andrew van der Schatte Olivier (Creator); Sophie von der Heyden (Creator); Stephen Watson (Creator); Phil Williamson (Creator); Claire Woulds (Creator); Philline Ermgassen (Creator)