Climate change will have drastic impacts on our community, but there are many solutions to help us adapt to and mitigate climate impacts. Research has shown that the restoration or conversion of land to permanent perennial vegetation can increase the amount of carbon stored within soils and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from soils. This can have a positive effect on battling climate change.
Dane County Land & Water Resource Department is actively modeling and tracking GHG emission reductions and removals while measuring changes in soil carbon across Dane County’s restoration and conservation projects. As a part of this effort, we created a GHG Reductions & Removals Dashboard that summarizes results from the Continuous Cover Program and prairie restorations within Dane County Parks. The dashboard includes data from 2024 with plans for annual updates
For additional information visit our Goals & Initiatives and Tracking Progress webpages.
The dashboard includes modeled GHG reductions and removals from the Continuous Cover Program and prairie restorations within Dane County Parks.
The Continuous Cover Program (CCP) provides funding to help convert traditional row-cropped fields to continuous vegetative cover. Private landowners work with LWRD staff to determine the best cover type and implementation strategy for their land. Continuous vegetative cover types include:
Land is enrolled in either a 15-year contract or perpetual easement where landowners receive payment once the cover is planted and certified by staff.
Dane County Parks manages over 17,000 acres of land, about 25% of which is currently in agriculture. Historically, Dane County uplands were prairie, making them ideal for restoration. The Natural Areas Program leads initiatives to restore prairies on Dane County Parkland through collection of native seeds, prairie planting, invasive control, and prescribed fire.
Greenhouse Gas reductions and removals shown in the dashboard are modeled through COMET-Farm, a tool developed by USDA and Colorado State University. COMET-Farm models reductions in greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O); and the removal of CO2 from the atmosphere into the soil. This tool can provide information to forecast how the conversion of annual agriculture systems to continuous cover will result in GHG removals and reductions long term.
