From 1976 to 2022, this dataset quantifies the ecosystem services and economic value of Australia's Great Southern Reef, a temperate kelp forest network spanning over 8,000 km of coastline. It was compiled by the Australian Ocean Data Network through a systematic review using the CICES framework and welfare economics. The data includes biophysical metrics like carbon sequestration, fishery biomass, and tourism visits, culminating in an estimated total annual economic value of $11.56 billion.
Use Cases
- Modeling the economic impact of kelp forest conservation based on the reported $11.56 billion annual valuation.
- Analyzing spatial distribution of ecosystem benefits based on metrics for five Australian states.
- Benchmarking carbon sequestration rates in marine ecosystems based on the reported 1116 grams of carbon per m2 used for growth annually.
- Assessing the scale of recreational and commercial use based on figures for dive sites, fishers, and fishery biomass.
Strengths
- Provides a consolidated economic valuation of $11.56 billion per year for the Great Southern Reef.
- Includes over 40 specific biophysical and socio-economic metrics, such as 2,361 peer-reviewed publications and 18 million annual tourist visits.
- Covers a temporal range from 1976 to 2022 and a spatial scope of five Australian states.
Limitations
- Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
- Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
- Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.
Provenance
- Source
- Australian Ocean Data Network
- Collection Method
- Systematic review and economic evaluation using Ocean Accounting and Welfare Economics approaches.
- Time Range
- 1976 to 2022
- Freshness
- Last updated 2026-04-29 10:41:37.058909; freshness should be verified.
- Geography
- Great Southern Reef, covering New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia, and Western Australia, Australia.