The objective of this Topic Area was to demonstrate and validate advanced and emerging nature-based solutions (NbS) to increase climate resilience on Department of Defense (DoD) lands in arid and semi-arid landscapes. Successful proposals developed and demonstrated NbS that are designed to accelerate installation-scale climate adaptation in arid and semi-arid landscapes.

Proposals responding could focus on the development of NbS for the following management objectives on DoD-managed and adjacent lands:

1. Improving stormwater management, such as increasing groundwater storage and reducing surface water runoff.
2. Recovery of disturbed cryptogamic crusts and native vegetation critical to carbon storage and soil processes.
3. Enhancing the control of exotic and invasive species.
4. Improving the management of threatened and endangered species, such as habitat protection and ecosystem restoration.
5. Reducing wildfire risk through such measures as fuel reduction and vegetation management.

In addition, proposers should have included strategies that scale from demonstration efforts to operations, or leverage ongoing or planned efforts already at operational scales. Proposals should have also included the development of monitoring methods to document the full suite of benefits from the proposed NbS, including how best to measure and verify climate benefits. Proposals should have included the transitional steps needed to gain end-user confidence and acceptance resulting in the implementation of this NbS at multiple DoD installations, and including appropriate metrics of success that, as an outcome, demonstrate technology transfer to and acceptance of the science by end-users.

The proposed research will benefit the DoD by providing natural resource managers with novel or improved tools for more effective and efficient management of the natural resources that help the Department meet its mission while protecting rare flora and fauna. When applied by installation managers, these tools will lead to more climate-resilient landscapes, which ultimately are more sustainable. Thus, application of NbS will also reduce the impacts of costly extreme events, such as droughts, floods, and wildfires. And finally, the development of these novel tools will allow the DoD to continue in the vanguard of natural resource conservation.

Many geographic regions where Department of Defense assets are concentrated are experiencing rapid ecological changes, with arid to semi-arid ecosystems are experiencing some of the fastest changing landscapes in the country. These changes include increasing exposure to severe climate impacts, such as unprecedented wildfires, severe drought, extreme precipitation, and flooding. These ecosystems, which are critical to DoD training, testing, and readiness, face degradation and erosion of soil, loss of habitat for wildlife, impacts to culturally important sites and resources, pressure on threatened and endangered species, and increases in invasive, highly inflammable exotic grasses and plants. Accelerating the response to current and anticipated future changes to the DoD’s natural and built infrastructure is essential to sustaining its mission, readiness, and stewardship activities across its 27 million acres. Thus, DoD natural resource managers urgently need to deploy effective, cost-efficient solutions.

ESTCP has created pilot projects through its National Innovation Landscape Network that may be leveraged for accelerated transition of proposed efforts.