Earlier this year, the Wisconsin Initiative on Climate Change Impacts (WICCI) released its 2021 climate assessment report, Wisconsin’s Changing Climate: Impacts and Solutions for a Warmer Climate. The report is the most comprehensive assessment to date on the impact of climate change in Wisconsin and includes details on the continued warming and increased precipitation throughout the state.

Led by the UW–Madison Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR), the report is the product of 14 working groups that include over 200 scientists, practitioners, and Wisconsin residents representing more than 50 national, state, and local agencies, non-profit organizations and universities. Numerous CALS scientists are involved, including on the agriculture working group and the wildlife working group.

Overall, the report found that since 1950, statewide temperatures have warmed by 3 degrees Fahrenheit and precipitation has increased 17%. Meanwhile, the last two decades have been the warmest on record, and the past decade has been the wettest. The report stresses the need for significant and rapid reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and identifies steps Wisconsin can take to store carbon, reduce emissions, and adapt to a wetter and warmer future.

Findings from the agriculture work group:

The primary impacts of climate change to Wisconsin agriculture include: increased warming in the spring and fall; increased temperatures during the winter and summer; increased precipitation; and increased frequency of extreme weather events such as heavy rainfall. Wisconsin needs to adapt land-use and land management strategies that decrease agriculture’s greenhouse gas emissions, promote soil carbon sequestration, and increase agriculture’s resiliency.

Some possible strategies to accomplish this are: increasing continuous living cover on agricultural land; avoiding conversion of grasslands and other natural landscapes to row crop production and/or development; improving manure management to reduce liquid manure storage; and increasing nitrogen use efficiency.

CALS personnel involved include: Chris Kucharik (co-chair), agronomy; Jed Colquhoun, horticulture; Julie Dawson, horticulture; Russ Groves, entomology; Diane Mayerfeld, UW Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems; Paul Mitchell, agricultural and applied economics; Matt Ruark, soil science; Gregg Sanford, agronomy; John Shutske, biological systems engineering; Damon Smith, plant pathology; Paul Stoy, biological systems engineering

Findings from the wildlife working group:

Climate change-related impacts to Wisconsin’s wildlife include: shifting ranges; loss of snow cover; invasive species; and habitat loss. Species have three options in their response to climate change: move, adapt, or face extinction. Wildlife managers can adapt by taking an informed management action in response to or in preparation for changes in climate.

Adaption strategies for population management include: maintain and enhance genetic diversity; establish and maintain connectivity between populations; and facilitate shifts in the geographic range of the species in anticipation of future conditions. Adaption strategies for habitat management include: restore, and maintain sources of food, water, and cover as components of habitat; adjust management of food, water, and cover to align with expected future conditions; and establish and enhance protected areas or habitat reserves.

CALS personnel involved include: Benjamin Zuckerberg (co-chair), forest and wildlife ecology; Jamie Nack, forest and wildlife ecology; Christine Ribic, forest and wildlife ecology.