Nature-Based Solutions
Nature plays many roles in sustainable and resilient engineered systems, including as feedstock, factory, recycler, climate moderator, and inspiration. Engineers are working to use green infrastructure and natural areas for flood prevention; to eliminate heat islands; and to improve air, water, and soil quality. Other solutions include using urban land for agriculture, forestry, and human well-being; capturing CO2 in forests; using microbial communities for waste treatment, nutrient recovery, and energy production; substituting natural materials for synthetics in composites; using natural feedstocks and biological catalysts in chemical processes; modulating carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorous cycles; and designing nature- and bio-inspired synthetic materials.