Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39746002›Full record

ArticleProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America2025

Beyond despair: Leveraging ecosystem restoration for psychosocial resilience.

Carter S Smith, Elizabeth A DeMattia, Elizabeth Albright, Abigail F Bromberger, Olivia G Hayward, India J Mackinson, Sydney A Mantell, Brian G McAdoo, Dominic McAfee, Aurora McCollum and 5 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Valuing the contributions of conservation volunteers to coastal society.Conservation biology : the journal of the Society for Conservation Biology · 2026
    Article
  2. Article
  3. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

15 authors.

Carter S SmithDivision of Marine Science and Conservation, Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University Marine Lab, Beaufort, NC 28516.
Elizabeth A DeMattiaDivision of Marine Science and Conservation, Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University Marine Lab, Beaufort, NC 28516.ORCID 0009-0007-6029-6607
Elizabeth AlbrightDivision of Environmental Social Systems, Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708.
Abigail F BrombergerDivision of Marine Science and Conservation, Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University Marine Lab, Beaufort, NC 28516.
Olivia G HaywardSanford School of Public Policy, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708.ORCID 0009-0002-8601-6160
India J MackinsonDivision of Marine Science and Conservation, Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University Marine Lab, Beaufort, NC 28516.
Sydney A MantellDivision of Marine Science and Conservation, Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University Marine Lab, Beaufort, NC 28516.
Brian G McAdooDivision of Marine Science and Conservation, Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University Marine Lab, Beaufort, NC 28516.ORCID 0000-0003-1342-4825
Dominic McAfeeSchool of Biological Sciences and Environment Institute, University of Adelaide, SA 5005.ORCID 0000-0001-8278-8169
Aurora McCollumDivision of Marine Science and Conservation, Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University Marine Lab, Beaufort, NC 28516.
Avery B PaxtonDivision of Marine Science and Conservation, Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University Marine Lab, Beaufort, NC 28516.
Anne RodererDivision of Marine Science and Conservation, Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University Marine Lab, Beaufort, NC 28516.ORCID 0009-0006-7193-1963
Kathryn StevensonParks, Recreation and Tourism Management, College of Natural Resources, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695.
Rebecca L VidraDivision of Marine Science and Conservation, Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University Marine Lab, Beaufort, NC 28516.
Zixin ZhaoDivision of Marine Science and Conservation, Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University Marine Lab, Beaufort, NC 28516.

Funding

Duke University Bass Connections NA
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Ecosystem restoration has historically been viewed as an ecological endeavor, but restoration possesses significant, yet largely untapped, potential as a catalyst for personal and social transformation. We highlight the opportunity for restoration to enhance community resilience by increasing agency and collective action and countering the pervasive perception that we are powerless witnesses to environmental decline. In this perspective, we take a "bright spots" approach and highlight successful examples of ecosystem restoration that have helped to nurture a sense of place, foster optimism, and cultivate stronger and more diverse social networks. These three individual- and community-level capacities have the potential to lead to increased psychosocial resilience, which is a key component of community resilience. Our aim is to spark discussion and research to better understand how we can transform restoration from a largely technical endeavor to a practice and process through which human-nature relationships are infused with deliberate meaning and human well-being is improved. With current calls to upscale and technologize restoration to meet sustainable development goals, we cannot lose sight of the value of community-engaged ecosystem restoration as a strategy with great potential for psychosocial benefits.

Indexed as

EcosystemConservation of Natural ResourcesEnvironmental Restoration and RemediationHumansResilience, Psychologicalagencycommunity resilienceecosystem restorationindividual resiliencesocial–ecological systems

Identifiers

PMID39746002
PMCPMC11745321

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.