Regulating Services as Measures of Ecological Resilience on DoD Lands
RC-201114
Objective
The overall objective of this project is to provide the Department of Defense (DoD) with clearer insight into the current and future provision of freshwater ecosystem services germane to many environmental constraints faced by DoD, including imperiled species, water quality, and urban encroachment. The ecological resilience provided by regulating and supporting ecosystem services (RS) is important when planning land uses, whether for environmental stewardship or military training. Land-use choices by DoD must be made in the context of dynamic demographic, land-use, and climatic conditions on adjacent lands, which ultimately regulate RS capacity and flow. These dynamics can be depicted in future scenarios that enable land managers to plan more effectively for environmental conflicts. Specific technical objectives of this project are to (1) estimate current capacity of and demand for selected RS within DoD lands, (2) forecast the effects of future DoD land-use (i.e., planned military and environmental operations) and climate changes on the capacity of these RS, and (3) forecast how land-use and climate changes in nearby lands might affect future demand for RS within DoD lands.
Technology Description
The analytical framework combines quantitative and spatial modeling to evaluate RS on and near DoD lands. The project team will incorporate conceptual models of RS capacity and flow with GIS technology, a watershed-scale model (SWAT), several national and state-level data sets, and a user-defined scenario analysis. While GIS is commonly used to assess RS via simple land-cover proxies, the approach to be demonstrated estimates RS capacity and flow by integrating several layers of spatially explicit information. This makes the estimates inherently more accurate and responsive to projected land-use and climate changes than other approaches. This project will identify areas (1) with high and low ecological resilience based on water purification (i.e., sediment and nutrient regulation) and water regulation (i.e., flood and drought modulation) capacity and (2) likely to be affected by changes to precipitation and sediment and nutrient transport regimes as well as sea-level rise. If successful, spatial patterns in the current capacity of DoD and adjacent lands to provide RS will be demonstrated and potential changes to capacity and demand for RS will be forecasted.
Benefits
The RS planning tool will enable planners to determine which areas are best suited for different land uses (e.g., military training, housing, or forest buffer) and which areas will be most affected by region-wide transformation as a result of climate change and urbanization. Spatially explicit knowledge of RS capacity and flow can help DoD land managers make planning decisions that enhance cost-effectiveness, minimize environmental damage, and maximize the resources available for the military mission. The RS capacity, demand, and flow analyses will provide the science-based supply and demand information needed to account for these RS in environmental impact assessments, regulate land use and prepare mitigation strategies to avoid costs incurred by landscape changes in land use and climate, and provide a coherent and transferable biophysical foundation for performing economic valuations germane to DoD land use in the future. This demonstration will provide relevant, time-sensitive information to land managers at Fort Pickett, Virginia, and Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina, and provide the framework for similar assessments on other DoD lands throughout the United States. (Anticipated Project Completion - 2014)
Symposium & Workshop
FY 2013 New Start Project Selections
Points of Contact
Principal Investigator
Dr. Paul Angermeier
Virginia Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit
Phone: 540-231-4501
Program Manager
Resource Conservation and Climate Change
SERDP and ESTCP
Document Types
- Fact Sheet - Brief project summary with links to related documents and points of contact.
- Final Report - Comprehensive report for every completed SERDP and ESTCP project that contains all technical results.
- Cost & Performance Report - Overview of ESTCP demonstration activities, results, and conclusions, standardized to facilitate implementation decisions.
- Technical Report - Additional interim reports, laboratory reports, demonstration reports, and technology survey reports.
- Guidance - Instructional information on technical topics such as protocols and user’s guides.
- Workshop Report - Summary of workshop discussion and findings.
- Multimedia - On demand videos, animations, and webcasts highlighting featured initiatives or technologies.
- Model/Software - Computer programs and applications available for download.
- Database - Digitally organized collection of data available to search and access.