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

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