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Close-up of an orange-brown Elkhorn Coral in a shallow reef environment.

Coral reefs are the skeletons of marine invertebrates called coral, which form large underwater structures comprised of colonies.

A group of people is planting grasses on a coastal dune as part of a dune rehabilitation project.

Coastal dunes are large mounds of sand deposited on the landward side of a beach.

A narrow water channel surrounded by vegetation anchored in erosion netting.

A floodplain is a low-lying area directly adjacent to a waterbody and partially or fully flooded during high-water events.

Forest trees and stream in Pisgah National Forest

Forests provide food, fuel, oxygen, clean water, erosion control, and health benefits to people.

Wide-angle view of prairie grass horizon.

Grasslands, often called prairies in the United States, are habitats where the dominant vegetation type is grass.

Fire break overhead view

Green firebreaks are strips of fire-resistant vegetation planted strategically to slow or stop the spread of wildfires, especially near infrastructure.

An oyster reef in Downe Township, New Jersey that serves as the first phase of the Hurricane Sandy-funded living shoreline installation for the Gandy’s Beach shoreline protection project (completed in October 2015).

Living shoreline creation refers to the process of planting vegetation along the shoreline and installing structures that help hold the vegetation in place.

An oyster reef at Gandy’s Beach which is a part of a shell-based living shoreline one mile offshore (projected to reduce incoming wave energy by up to 40 percent).

Oysters are a cornerstone of coastal ecosystems and fisheries, providing structural protection to the coast as well as improving water quality.

Nearby Chesapeake and Suffolk, Virginia, Fred Wurster, a hydrologist, manipulates a water control structure, 1 of 22 structures repaired or installed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service with Hurricane Sandy resilience funding to reduce impacts of flood and fire.

Peatlands are a type of inland wetland where waterlogged soils prevent plant material from fully decomposing. There are two types of peatlands: tropical peatlands, characterized by high precipitation and temperature, and northern peatlands, which are interspersed among boreal forests and coastal areas.

The installation of containerized sedges and rushes in the Mountain-Prairie Region (which includes eight states across three distinct landscapes) by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to help re-establish wetland and riparian habitat.

Riparian buffers are vegetated areas adjacent to an inland waterbody that are managed to protect the waterbody from the impacts of surrounding land uses.

A scorpionfish is hidden in a seagrass meadow.

Seagrasses are flowering plants that grow entirely underwater and form dense meadows in shallow areas. Seagrass restoration refers to any activities that help return seagrass ecosystems to as close as possible to their state before anthropogenic disturbances.

A restoration site at Raccoon Creek in Paulding County on the northwest edge of metro Atlanta, Georgia a few weeks following the latest restoration work by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

A stream, also known as a branch, creek, run, or brook, is a continuous surface flow of freshwater within a channel that is smaller than a river. Headwater streams can originate from groundwater (springs), runoff, or a wetland.

Rain gardens at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia.

Strategies for urban stormwater and runoff management such as rain gardens, stormwater parks, permeable pavement, and bioswales are intended to reduce these issues by promoting water retention, infiltration, and evapotranspiration instead of runoff.