Economic evaluation of ecological restoration options in gypsum habitats after mining

Abstract Degraded ecosystems worldwide are in need of restoration in order to recover essential ecosystem services, promoting biodiversity and enhancing carbon stock. Methods to restore vegetation differ widely in economic cost and effectiveness, but economic evaluations are scarce in the literature. The aim was to perform an economic appraisal of different restoration options for gypsum habitats after mining, analysing the effectiveness of the most feasible options comparing both, ecological success (survival) and economic (costs). The evaluated restoration techniques differed significantly in costs. The most expensive option was planting (69,795.50 €/ha), despite the high survival achieved. The least expensive successful option was manual sowing in level plots (0-15 % incline; 12,513.20 €/ha). The application of organic amendments proved expensive without offering substantial benefits, while the erosion-control blankets (ECBs) justified the cost only on steep slopes (50-60% incline). We conclude that for relatively level areas without stability or erosion problems, the simplest and least expensive solution is manual sowing of native species. For steep areas (15-60 %), hydroseeding with dense mulching is the most cost-effective choice, while only small patches with steeper slopes (around 60%) should be treated with ECBs to prevent excessive erosion and landslides. Restoration requires more ecological research followed by proper economic assessment in order to offer valuable solutions for practitioners, not only in mining restoration, but also in all types of ecological restoration.