Through no-till and cover-crop practices, the soil health management system an Ohio farmer practices restore and re-carbonize soil. The no-till practices increase crop yields by 36-44%, sequesters around 960 kg of carbon per hectare per year, and reduce fertilizer and herbicide use by 75 percent.
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Nature-Based Solutions Case Study Search
This database contains over 400 implementations of nature-based solutions. Use the filters to identify the case studies most relevant to you.
While all cases here exemplify applications of NBS strategies, they were gathered from various sources and not all were written using the framing of nature-based solutions. To qualify as a nature-based solution, a project must provide benefits to both people and nature. In some instances, the human benefits are present but not emphasized in the case write ups; these cases were included because they still provide useful information to learn from.
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Cleveland Metroparks worked closely with 12 community-based organizations and 40 stakeholder groups in restoring Lake Erie’s eastern shorefront. The team managed to conduct virtual and in-person outreach activities during the COVID-19 pandemic and develop a plan for 150 acres of park and habitat amenities, including 80 acres of newly acquired park land.
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Funded by the USEPA’s Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, a wetland system is constructed to reduce phosphorous loading in a forested cropland. Phosphorus is removed through natural processes such as particulate nutrient sedimentation, sorption to soil particles, and uptake by wetland plants. The project achieved a 50% - 80% phosphorus reduction and co-benefits like wildlife and fish proliferation.
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The Healthy Forest, Health Wildlife project aimed to restore the understories of reclaimed forests. Between 2017 and early 2019, restoration efforts included invasive species removal, native plantings, and constructing animal shelters. In total, 288 shrubs, 564 herbaceous plants, and 348 trees were planted, in addition to herbaceous plant seedling at 46 seeds per square foot and 360 canopy tree seedlings.
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Cincinnati is one of the nation’s top five combined sewer overflow (CSO) dischargers, causing severely polluted waterways and building damage. The Lick Run Watershed hosts the Cincinnati-area's largest combined sewer and was a priority for improved stormwater management. The Lick Run Watershed Strategic Integration Plan aims to eliminate 400 million gallons of combined sewer overflow annually.
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Toledo, Ohio has experienced increased stormwater flooding and sewage system overflows, causing water quality issues and flood hazards. The city created the the Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI) Task Force to address these issues. One of GSI’s projects on Maywood Avenue used green infrastructure to improve water quality and reduce runoff.
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