Fast Fact Library

A global-scale assessment estimates that if mangrove foreshore dike systems were restored and established along coastlines susceptible to flooding, they could reduce expected annual damage from coastal flooding by...

Tiggeloven, Timothy, Vincent van Zelst, Eric Mortensen, Bregje K. van Wesenbeeck, Thomas A. Worthington, Mark Spalding, Hans de Moel, and Philip J. Ward. “Mangrove Restoration and Coastal Flood Adaptation: A Global Perspective on the Potential for Hybrid Coastal Protection.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 123, no. 4 (2026): e2510980123. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2510980123

An analysis of 83 nature-based solutions in the Alps region estimated a return on investment of 2.8 euro per 1 euro spent based on co-benefits and the monetary value of ecosystem services like heatwave mitigation...

González-García, Alberto, Ignacio Palomo, Anna Codemo, Mirco Rodeghiero, Titouan Dubo, Améline Vallet, and Sandra Lavorel. “Co-benefits of nature-based solutions exceed the costs of implementation.” Cell Reports Sustainability 2, no.3 (2025): 1-19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crsus.2025.100336

A systematic review of research on the effectiveness of nature-based solutions for addressing climate impacts showed that that of 293 interventions, 59% reduced adverse climate impacts. Overall, the studies that...

Chausson, Alexandre, Beth Turner, Dan Seddon, Nicole Chabaneix, Cécile A. J. Girardin, Valerie Kapos, Isabel Key, Dilys Roe, Alison Smith, Stephen Woroniecki, and Nathalie Seddon. “Mapping the effectiveness of nature-based solutions for climate change adaptation.” Global Change Biology 26, 11 (2020): 6134-6155. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.15310.

An analysis of satellite data for 14,000 cities and towns in the United States showed that areas within a 10-minute walk of a park can be up to 6° F cooler than areas further away from parks.

Trust for Public Land and MKThink. (2020). The Heat Is On: With temperatures rising and quality parks too few and far between, communities of color face a dangerous disparity. https://www.tpl.org/sites/default/files/The-Heat-is-on_A-Trust-for-Public-Land_special-report.pdf.

Coastal wetlands provide an average property damage savings of $1.8 million annually per square kilometer of wetland, as determined by a study of property damage caused by 88 tropical storms and hurricanes hitting...

Sun, Fanglin, and Richard T. Carson. “Coastal Wetlands Reduce Property Damage during Tropical Cyclones.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, February 2020. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1915169117.

Mangrove forests averted an estimated $1.5 billion in storm damages during Hurricane Irma in 2017, representing a 25% savings for Florida counties that have mangroves.

Narayan, Siddharth, Christopher Thomas, Joss Matthewman, Christine C. Shepard, Laura Geselbracht, Kechi Nzerem, and Michael W. Beck. Valuing the Flood Risk Reduction Benefits of Florida’s Mangroves. The Nature Conservancy, 2019. Nature.org/content/dam/tnc/nature/en/documents/Mangrove_Report_digital_FINAL.pdf

At least 40% canopy coverage is needed to achieve the maximum cooling effect of trees in offsetting the urban heat island effect at the scale of a typical city block, according to this University of Wisconsin...

Ziter, Carly D., Eric J. Pedersen, Christopher J. Kucharik, and Monica G. Turner. “Scale-Dependent Interactions between Tree Canopy Cover and Impervious Surfaces Reduce Daytime Urban Heat during Summer.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 116, no. 15 (2019): 7575–80. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1817561116

Coastal wetlands provide significant cost avoidance during extreme storm events. A regional study across 12 affected states showed that during Hurricane Sandy in 2012, wetlands avoided $625 million in direct flood...

Narayan, Siddharth, Michael W. Beck, Paul Wilson, Christopher J. Thomas, Alexandra Guerrero, Christine C. Shepard, Borja G. Reguero, Guillermo Franco, Jane Carter Ingram, and Dania Trespalacios. “The value of coastal wetlands for flood damage reduction in the northeastern USA.” Scientific reports 7, no. 1 (2017): 9463. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-09269-z

An in-depth analysis assessing urban tree cover and its impact on residential building energy use in the coterminous United States estimates a reduction of 38.8. million MWh or $4.7 billion in electricity use and...

Nowak, David J., Nathaniel Appleton, Alexis Ellis, and Eric Greenfield. (2017). Residential building energy conservation and avoided power plant emissions by urban and community trees in the United States. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening 21: 158-165. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2016.12.004

According to a 2013 study of lawns in the Los Angeles metropolitan area, low-density plantings of trees on irrigated lawns can significantly reduce turfgrass evapotranspiration through partial shading and serve as a...

Litvak, Elizaveta, Neeta S. Bijoor, and Diane E. Pataki. (November 2013). Adding trees to irrigated turfgrass lawns may be a water-saving measure in semi-arid environments. Ecohydrology 7(5): 1314-1330. https://doi.org/10.1002/eco.1458