What is one of the limits of ecosystem impact monitoring?

The correct answer highlights a limitation of ecosystem impact monitoring, focusing on the broader impacts over a long duration. While assessing these broader impacts is crucial for understanding the overall health and sustainability of an ecosystem, it can be challenging to conduct such lengthy evaluations effectively. This long-term approach can often lead to difficulties in data collection, as changes in the ecosystem can take time to manifest and may be influenced by numerous external factors.

By focusing on broader impacts, monitoring programs might miss immediate or critical changes happening within the ecosystem. Furthermore, the long duration of studies can lead to complications like shifts in funding, personnel changes, and evolving ecological conditions, which makes sustained monitoring arduous. In contrast, short-term assessments and in situ data collection can yield more immediate insights, but they may not capture the full complexity of an ecosystem's response to restoration efforts over time.

Other options presented indicate various aspects of monitoring, but they do not encapsulate the inherent challenge of ensuring that assessments over a longer duration effectively capture and evaluate extensive ecological impacts.