Climate Change Assessment

Program Overview

Research specifically focused on monitoring and understanding the impacts of climate change on various systems, especially forest and water ecosystems, to mitigate risks and develop potential adaptation strategies.

Recent Research

• Methane emissions pilot study was initiated with NRRI funding to understand the impact of greenhouse gas emissions from freshwater wetlands and peatlands. 
• Mechanisms of climate-induced range shifts in bird species were revealed with a new predictive framework that leverages 29 years of NRRI bird monitoring data from the Minnesota National Forest Breeding Bird Monitoring Program. 
• Decades of long-term monitoring data of wetlands, rivers & streams, and inland lakes is providing critical information to agency managers about the impacts of climate change to water ecosystems. 
• Toxic harmful algal bloom research seeks to understand climate and landscape drivers responsible for the proliferation of toxic cyanobacteria in aquatic ecosystems where they have historically been absent, such as Lake Superior and the St. Louis River Estuary. 
• Migration of southern flying squirrels into territory of northern flying squirrels is signaling changes to the forest ecosystem due to climate change.