To conduct its mission, the Department of Defense (DoD) manages 28 million acres of natural and built infrastructure across a wide variety of ecosystems and geographies around the globe. DoD lands provide the contiguous, unencumbered spaces needed to closely replicate the operational environment of assigned missions, and the same training lands must be available for numerous units to train over time. Wildfires, flooding, exotic species invasion, dust emissions, and other challenges to training and testing environments require careful management. SERDP and ESTCP produce tools and technologies that maximize the number of training days and mission readiness.
Monitoring the status and trends of species habitat, vegetation communities, watersheds, and invasive species is a critical component of natural resource management. Increasing the pace and efficacy of natural resource surveys and site mapping is a priority for managers and installation environmental staff. SERDP and ESTCP demonstrate and validate advanced and emerging monitoring methods and remote sensing technologies on DoD lands to improve: population and habitat assessments for threatened, endangered and at-risk species; resilience and trends monitoring; fire risk assessment and fire effects documentation; watershed health assessments; and invasive species detection.
Invasive species can quickly diminish the quality and quantity of training locations by increasing fire frequency, electrical malfunctions, and obstructions to site navigability. SERDP and ESTCP produce novel methods and technologies that advance monitoring, surveying, and managing invasive species on military lands.
DoD has the highest density of species listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act of any federal land management agency. Mismanagement of threatened or endangered species can cause major complications and delays when carrying out training and mission operations. SERDP and ESTCP projects advance the management and sustainment of rare wildlife habitats found on military installations to ensure mission operations remain uninterrupted.
Most military bases occupy large areas of undeveloped or sparsely developed land relative to surroundings. These lands and their ecosystems provide a wide range of valuable services to society including flood protection, habitat for plant and wildlife species, and recreational opportunities. The DoD manages natural ecosystems, including deserts, coastal areas, and Arctic systems, on 28 million acres of land to provide realistic training environments. SERDP and ESTCP projects enable the DoD to comply with federal environmental legislation and regulations and ensure DoD lands and ecosystems are resilient to natural hazards.
DoD has become a national leader in wildland fire research through the current suite of SERDP and ESTCP research projects, referred to collectively as the “DoD Wildland Fire Science Initiative.” Fire can be one of the most effective ecological processes for restoring historically degraded lands to functioning ecosystems, but the ecological processes are complex and not well understood. SERDP and ESTCP investments in wildland fire research promote co-production of management-relevant science between fire managers and researchers with a focus on next-generation fire behavior and smoke dispersion models.
