Coastal ecosystem services in the Temperate Northern Pacific: An emphasis on beneficiaries
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Understanding the portfolio of beneficiaries relying on coastal ecosystem goods and services (EGS) in a given area can facilitate better land-use planning. Within the scientific community, identifying end-users at the onset of EGS studies means that results are more relevant to decision-makers and communities. We used the Final Ecosystem Goods and Services Classification System (FEGS-CS) in a comprehensive review of beneficiary groups represented in existing coastal EGS literature. We focused on peer-reviewed journal articles published prior to 2018 that linked coastal landscape features with human beneficiaries. Of just under 450 articles that were identified worldwide, less than 50 were based in ecoregions of the Temperate North Pacific. These articles contributed 186 lines of evidence linking EGS to specific coastal users within ecoregions of the Temperate North Pacific. The Cortezian and Yellow Sea Ecoregions had the greatest amount of literature evidence for coastal beneficiaries. Conversely, there were no studies identified linking beneficiaries to coastal features in seven of the 17 ecoregions of this realm. The majority of literature evidence addressed indirect EGS (e.g., climate regulation, biodiversity value, etc.), even when specific beneficiaries were also considered. Additionally, zero-inflated linear models and post-hoc comparisons revealed industry, recreational, and subsistence users with significantly more literature evidence than other beneficiary groups. Overall, results provide a snapshot of prominent users of coastal EGS within the Temperate North Pacific, while shedding light on the disparity in knowledge among ecoregions and opportunities for future work.