Significant wetland loss (~72%; 1.4 million hectares) in the Province of Ontario, Canada, has resulted in damage to important ecosystem services that mitigate the effects of global change. In response, major agencies have set goals to halt this loss and work to restore wetlands to varying degrees of function and area. To aid those agencies, this study was guided by four research questions: (i) Which physical and ecological landscape criteria represent high suitability for wetland reconstruction? (ii) Of common wetland suitability metrics, which are most important? (iii) Can a multi-criteria wetland suitability index (WSI) effectively locate high and low wetland suitability across the Ontario Mixedwood Plains Ecozone? (iv) How do best sites from the WSI compare and contrast to both inventories of presettlement wetlands and current existing wetlands? The WSI was created based on seven criteria, normalized from 0 (low suitability) to 10 (high suitability), and illustrated through a weighted composite raster. Using an Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) and importance determined from a scoping review of relevant literature, soil drainage had the greatest meaning and weight within the WSI (48.2%). The Getis-Ord Gi* index charted statistically significant “hot spots” and “cold spots” of wetland suitability. Last, the overlay analysis revealed greater similarity between high suitability sites and presettlement wetlands supporting the severity of historic wetland cannibalization. In sum, this transferable modeling approach to regional wetland restoration provides a prioritization tool for improving ecological connectivity, services, and resilience.

中文翻译：

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安大略混合木平原恢复的多标准湿地适宜性指数

加拿大安大略省的湿地显着减少（约 72%；140 万公顷），已对减轻全球变化影响的重要生态系统服务造成破坏。作为回应，主要机构设定了阻止这种损失的目标，并努力将湿地恢复到不同程度的功能和面积。为了帮助这些机构，本研究以四个研究问题为指导：(i) 哪些物理和生态景观标准代表了湿地重建的高度适用性？(ii) 在常见的湿地适宜性指标中，哪些最重要？(iii) 多标准湿地适宜性指数 (WSI) 能否有效定位整个安大略省混交林平原生态区的湿地适宜性高低？(iv) WSI 中的最佳地点如何与预设湿地和现有湿地的清单进行比较和对比？WSI 是基于七个标准创建的，从 0（低适用性）到 10（高适用性）标准化，并通过加权复合栅格进行说明。使用层次分析法 (AHP) 和从相关文献的范围审查确定的重要性，土壤排水在 WSI 中具有最大的意义和权重 (48.2%)。Getis-Ord Gi* 指数绘制了具有统计意义的湿地适宜性“热点”和“冷点”。最后的，叠加分析揭示了高适宜性地点与支持历史性湿地蚕食严重程度的预先安置湿地之间的更大相似性。总之，这种用于区域湿地恢复的可转移建模方法为改善生态连通性、服务和恢复力提供了优先排序工具。