FAROUK EL-BAZ AWARD: RESEARCH ON ROCK DETENTION STRUCTURES, NATURAL INFRASTRUCTURE IN DRYLAND STREAMS

Rock detention structures (RDS) can restore implicit function of arid or semi-arid landscapes by restoring or creating new wetlands in water-scarce riparian zones. Simple rock and perishable detention structures have been used in dryland farming for thousands of years—to concentrate soil and moisture and enable modes of subsistence production where it would otherwise be impossible. However, RDS practices are often misunderstood by some land and water management agencies, causing them to be underappreciated and even banned from use. My presentation provides examples of interdisciplinary studies that document the key restorative action of RDS to slow the flow of drainage from the landscape so that more of it can infiltrate and enhance natural physical, chemical, and biological processes in fluvial environments. Degradation of alluvial storage can be reversed where series of RDS are installed, and natural biogeochemical feedback loops can be restored in these systems. I will share lessons learned from installation in the dryland streams of the southwestern United States, how such efforts might be scaled up, and what the implications might be for mitigating climate change effects. This summary will portray how using RDS as natural infrastructure in dryland streams (NIDS) are a nature-based solution that can support adaptation and protection from climate-related disturbances and stressors such as drought, water shortages, flooding, heatwaves, dust storms, wildfire, biodiversity losses, and food insecurity.