An Optimal Model for Maximizing Return on Investment of Ecological Restoration

We develop a model to investigate the use of linear programming to maximize return on investment of ecological restoration of coastal mud flat, in particular maximizing ecosystem service values, minimizing ecological restoration cost by optimizing development and ecological restoration of coastal mud flat. We show that such an optimal model was constructed to represent all ecosystem and ecological restoration services and given the return on optimal investment of ecological restoration for the coastal mud flat in Dafeng City, Jiangsu Province, China. Finally, the return on investment of ecological restoration, up to 256.4% in 1997, exhibits that there is a possibility of obtaining a decision support system from the optimal model and suggests that it is possible to improve decisions of restoration programs of the coastal mud flat by the return on investment of ecological restoration in which multiple service benefits can be maximized and ecological restoration cost can be minimized simultaneously.