top of page

Climate Resiliency project

"Ensuring the success of Michigan farms in the face of climate change: Using linkages between soil health and greenhouse gas emissions to enhance the resilience of Michigan field crops"

CR2024_5-78B.jpg
CR2024_5-79A.jpg
CR2024_5-86A.jpg

There is a wide scientific consensus that extreme weather events such as drought, heavy rainfall, and high temperatures significantly impact agricultural production. These conditions, driven by climate change, put Michigan farmers at risk of yield losses and adverse socio-economic effects. Although climate-smart practices have been integrated into agriculture, there are still knowledge gaps on their impact on soil health, greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs), and key socio-economic factors. Moreover, there are major knowledge gaps in understanding soil health's role in climate change mitigation and adaptation.

 

Hence, under MSU’s Agricultural Climate Resiliency Program, Dr. Christine Sprunger led a project composed of a multi-disciplinary team of experts dedicated to ensuring the success of Michigan farms in the face of climate change. In this project, at least 80 fields across five Michigan agro-ecoregions will be sampled for biophysical, socio-economic, and remote sensing data which will be used to examine important factors driving climate adaptation and mitigation in Michigan’s major commodity crops.

​

The project will also explore how regenerative agriculture practices improve soil health and yield stability, assess the link between soil health and GHGs, and identify factors to the adoption of climate-smart practices. In the short term, the project will identify regenerative agricultural practices that will effectively boost climate resiliency and support Michigan farmers as they explore GHG mitigation programs. Long-term impacts will include the development of extension materials and policy briefs to provide valuable insights on climate resilience, supporting Michigan farmers' success in adapting to climate change. 

​

Project Update (as of January 2025)

Soil Health and Ecosystem Ecology Lab | KBS, Hickory Corners, MI | sprunge5@msu.edu

  • Twitter
bottom of page