Restoration of Military Training Lands: Development of Decision Support Tools

Sustainable management of military training lands is critical to the ongoing mission of preparing U.S. military forces to fight and win wars. Development of next generation biophysical and economic models for planning and assessment of military land restoration programs can provide a vital decision support tool for military land managers worldwide. Providing accurate decision support for determining appropriate best management practice (BMP) selection based on available knowledge is critical and can provide accountability for restoration funding. Utilizing a multitude of data including hydrologic, vegetation, soils and erosion data from the U.S. Army's Fort Hood military installation, a team of scientists is working to parameterize the Agricultural Policy extender (APEX) simulation model's capabilities for application on highly disturbed military training lands. Development on lands under such harsh disturbance regimes will provide a robust technology that can be easily adapted to rangeland and other ecosystems under less stressful disturbance conditions. Results of preliminary model parameterizations indicate potential benefits in the development and application of hydrologic models to address erosion reduction practices utilized on Fort Hood.