Table 1 Some examples of restoration interventions with less success or pseudo-ecological engineering triggered by overlooked discrepancies

Inappropriate restoration designs and associate techniques were adopted during the implementation

• Simplifying vegetation re-establishment without consideration of the “window of opportunity” theory and habitat improvement in salt marshes (a).

• Performing seagrass seeding and seedling transplantation under stresses of strong hydrodynamic disturbance and consumer control (b).

• Transforming the structure and even the type of original ecosystems, such as afforestation in mudflats or salt marshes (c).

• Establishing coral reefs, seagrass beds, and mangroves in places where they were historically absent (d).

• Creating temporary dikes to reduce tidal disturbance to improve the survival of transplanting that fail to resist the stressful environment in the long term.

• Eradicating invasive plants, such as Spartina alterniflora simply by plowing, mowing, and/or water flooding, while largely overlooking the damage to native (e).

Excessive artificial engineering intervention was implemented

• Hardening the shoreline to prevent wetland erosion but reduces their biological connectivity and self-recovery capabilities (f).

• Performing pseudo-ecological engineering projects, such as developing the natural salt marshes into coastal garden landscapes for tourism purposes (g).

• Replacing muddy beaches with sandy beaches by dredging and sand replenishing (h).

• Converting salt marshes into reed wetlands by irrigating freshwater to increase carbon sinks.

Potential ecological risks were introduced during restorations

• Using non-native species or domesticated species for enhancement and release (i).

• Introducing exotic species such as Sonneratia apetala for mangrove restoration (j).

• Ignoring habitat heterogeneity and conducting homogenizing habitat restoration.

Lack of pre-restoration degradation assessment and post-restoration adaptive management

• Performing excessive habitat rehabilitation for lightly degraded coastal ecosystems without evaluating the potential of the ecosystem’s self-organization.

• Lacking long-term substrate maintenance and management for transplanted salt marsh plants, mangroves, and seagrasses, leads to high mortality.

• Neglecting reinvasion risk after eradication of invasive plants due to a lack of timely monitoring and adaptive management.