Metric of Habitat Function (HFM)

The Metric of Habitat Function (MHF) is designed as a spatially explicit tool to assess and visualize the capacity of benthic habitats to sustain key ecosystem functions across the seascape. By providing a standardized scale to assess the potential contribution of different habitats to ecological processes—such as nutrient cycling, primary production, bioturbation, or carbon storage—the MHF establishes a common framework to evaluate ecosystem functioning at the seascape. Its purpose is to generate a comparable and scalable measure that informs conservation prioritization based on the potential of each habitat to support ecological functions. The MHF adopts an adaptive approach that initially relies on expert knowledge while progressively incorporating empirical and trait-based data to strengthen mechanistic links between habitats, functions, and the services they provide.

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