Donnelle Eller

deller@dmreg.com

Iowans can expect to see more of the extreme weather that led to widespread flooding in northeast Iowa last month, a group of climate scientists said Wednesday.

“Iowa’s record September rainfall and flooding reminds us that climate change is real and needs to be addressed on both the farm and in our communities,” said David Courard-Hauri, director of Drake University's environmental science and policy program.

Scientists can't blame climate change alone for any one event. "But what we can say is that the frequency of extreme precipitation events is increasing," said Jerry Schnoor, co-director of the University of Iowa's Center for Global and Regional Environmental Research.

"That’s the most significant thing we can see in meteorological records" going back 100 years, Schnoor told reporters during a call about the group's sixth annual climate statement.

"Rainfall events, let's say in locations with more than 4 inches, have greatly increased, and this was one of those. We got over 10 inches in a couple of different days for this particular storm," he said. "It was very unusual for a storm to have such an impact in September. In fact, it's almost unprecedented."

"Because total rainfall is increasing, and the severity within a single day is increasing, we can expect more of that as greenhouse gases continue to accumulate in the atmosphere," Schnoor said.

The group of nearly 190 climate scientists called on Iowa growers to adopt conservation and farming practices that can help reduce greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change.

The scientists said agriculture, which accounts for 27 percent of Iowa's greenhouse gas emissions, can lead the way on climate change.

Fossil fuels used to generate electricity and power homes, commercial and industrial operations account for about 50 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, and transportation, 17 percent, according to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

Scientists said they're building on an initiative U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack introduced last year that asks farmers to respond to climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, increasing carbon sequestration and expanding renewable energy production.

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The effort seeks to cut emissions nationwide by about 120 million metric tons of carbon dioxide annually. Vilsack, Iowa's former governor, said meeting the goal would be the equivalent of taking 25 million cars off the road — or offsetting emissions from power to 11 million homes.

The Iowa climate scientists, representing 39 Iowa colleges and universities, focused on a couple of initiatives included in Vilsack's Climate-Smart Agriculture program:

Conservation that shifts marginal croplands to perennial vegetation in land set-aside programs. It permanently stores carbon in soils, "preventing its exposure to air and transformation to carbon dioxide, while also incorporating nitrogen that otherwise would enter waterways."

Reduced tillage that prevents soil erosion, "thereby reducing silt and phosphorus runoff and returning carbon and nutrients to the soil just below the surface."

"Iowa — already a world leader in agricultural production and products — could now also take pride in 'carbon-storage farms' that also improve soil health, wildlife and pollinator habitat, and water quality," the group said.

The federal program also says farmers can cut emissions with improved nitrogen management; installing anarobic digesters and bio-gas systems; and protecting private forests, among other actions.

The group said federal and private programs offer several incentives that help farmers adopt practices that "lessen human contributions to greenhouse gas emissions."

"Iowa — once replete with soil carbon built by deep-rooted perennial vegetation — can reduce net greenhouse gas emissions with crop-perennial systems that pull heat-trapping carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and rebuild soil carbon," the group said.