Nature-based solutions for soil and water conservation in an era of climate extremes: Limitations and future scenarios

Nature-based Solutions (NbS) have emerged as an effective approach to address environmental challenges while promoting sustainable development. If properly designed, they foster resilient ecosystems capable of adapting to and mitigating threats, such as soil degradation, water scarcity, natural hazards, and climate change. In soil and water conservation, NbS offer adaptive strategies that integrate ecological, social, and economic benefits. However, the unprecedented climate extremes (e.g. heatwaves, prolonged drought, drought-flood coexistence, and extreme rainfall causing destructive flash floods) threaten their functionality. If one solution is effective in the present climate regimes, it is not guaranteed that the same effectiveness will be maintained in future climates (e.g. climate zone shift from temperate to arid with record heatwaves during summer). This challenge is exacerbated when the changes in climate extremes coincide with unexpected shifts in anthropogenic activities. This perspective explores these challenges and proposes some approaches for implementing NbS in soil and water conservation, considering future climate change scenarios.