Restoration is becoming a vital tool to counteract coastal ecosystem degradation. Modifying transplant designs of habitat-forming organisms from dispersed to clumped can amplify coastal restoration yields as it generates self-facilitation from emergent traits, i.e. traits not expressed by individuals or small clones, but that emerge in clumped individuals or large clones. Here, we advance restoration science by mimicking key emergent traits that locally suppress physical stress using biodegradable establishment structures. Experiments across (sub)tropical and temperate seagrass and salt marsh systems demonstrate greatly enhanced yields when individuals are transplanted within structures mimicking emergent traits that suppress waves or sediment mobility. Specifically, belowground mimics of dense root mats most facilitate seagrasses via sediment stabilization, while mimics of aboveground plant structures most facilitate marsh grasses by reducing stem movement. Mimicking key emergent traits may allow upscaling of restoration in many ecosystems that depend on self-facilitation for persistence, by constraining biological material requirements and implementation costs.

Summary1. In this study we aimed to estimate distance distributions of adhesively dispersed seeds and the factors that determine them. 2. Seed attachment and detachment were studied using field experiments with a real sheep, a sheep dummy and a cattle dummy. Seed-retention data were used in correlated random walk models to simulate adhesive seed dispersal. 3. Seed attachment to the sheep dummy was larger in quantity and in number of species, and stronger in relation to seed density in the vegetation, than was seed attachment to the cattle dummy. Species found on the real sheep were also found on the sheep dummy. 4. Detachment from sheep wool differed little between smooth, bristly, small or large seeds, but smooth seeds detached from cattle fur within a few metres. Seeds applied within reach of vegetation detached sooner than seeds applied higher on the dummy. 5. The simulations showed that sheep are long-distance seed-dispersal vectors for seeds of any morphology (99 percentile distance, 2·9 km). The virtual cattle and Fallow Deer dispersed bristly and hooked seeds over long distances (99 percentile distance, 435-840 m), but not smooth seeds. Wood Mouse simulations generated only shortdistance dispersal (99 percentile distance, 12 m).

Background and Aims The growth rate of pioneer species is known to be a critical component determining recruitment success of marsh seedlings on tidal flats. By accelerating growth, recruits can reach a larger size at an earlier date, which reduces the length of the disturbance-free window required for successful establishment. Therefore, the pursuit of natural mechanisms that accelerate growth rates at a local scale may lead to a better understanding of the circumstances under which new establishment occurs, and may suggest new insights with which to perform restoration. This study explores how and why changes in local sediment elevation modify the growth rate of recruiting salt marsh pioneers. Methods A mesocosm experiment was designed in which the annual salt marsh pioneer Salicornia procumbens was grown over a series of raised, flat and lowered sediment surfaces, under a variety of tidal inundation regimes and in vertically draining or un-draining sediment. Additional physical tests quantified the effects of these treatments on sediment water-logging and oxygen dynamics, including the use of a planar optode experiment. Key Results In this study, the elevation of sediment micro-topography by 2 cm was the overwhelming driver of plant growth rates. Seedlings grew on average 25 % faster on raised surfaces, which represented a significant increase when compared to other groups. Changes in growth aligned well with the amplifying effect of raised sediment beds on a tidally episodic oxygenation process wherein sediment pore spaces were refreshed by oxygen-rich water at the onset of high tide. Conclusions Overall, the present study suggests this tidally driven oxygen pump as an explanation for commonly observed natural patterns in salt marsh recruitment near drainage channels and atop raised sediment mounds and reveals a promising way forward to promote the establishment of pioneers in the field.