Informing Nature-based Climate Solutions for the United States with the best-available science

Area of Science:

• Ecology
• Climate Science
• Environmental Policy

Background:

• Nature-based Climate Solutions (NbCS) are gaining support for carbon sequestration and emission reduction.
• Current NbCS assessments often use limited data, missing ecosystem-scale carbon fluxes and biophysical impacts.
• A disconnect exists between data scales, project implementation scales, and policy-relevant regional scales.

Purpose of the Study:

• To address critical gaps in understanding NbCS benefits and unintended consequences.
• To propose a research agenda for robust NbCS assessments at local to regional scales.
• To integrate ecosystem-scale observations and tools for NbCS evaluation.

Main Methods:

• Leveraging existing tools for ecosystem carbon and energy cycling research for NbCS.
• Shifting the scale of application for pre-existing data and tools.
• Synthesizing ecosystem-scale observations with remote sensing and land-surface models.

Main Results:

• Current methods for assessing NbCS benefits are insufficient at regional policy scales.
• Eddy covariance flux towers and advanced remote sensing are underutilized for NbCS potential.
• A mismatch exists between data resolution and the scales relevant for NbCS policy and implementation.

Conclusions:

• A research agenda is proposed to bridge data and policy scales for NbCS.
• Integrating ecosystem-scale observations and tools can improve NbCS assessments.
• Future NbCS strategies must consider biophysical impacts, climate feedbacks, and equity.