Rewilding and cooling with ruminants

Here is even more evidence for the value of ruminants for climate healing – this time it is European Bison. This article from the Guardian makes the staggering claim that a herd of 170 bison could help store the CO2 equivalence of almost two million cars!

European bison in Romania. Image credit: Michel Doutemont, The Guardian

Magic happens when ruminants interact with soil and vegetation. These reintroduced bison are rebuilding soils damaged by ploughing. This Romanian herd is in a 50 sq. km grassland that can potentially capture an additional two million tonnes of carbon a year. And in addition, the regenerated vegetation will cool the local environment via transpirational cooling and supporting a functioning hydrological cycle.

According to Rewilding Europe there are now about 7000 bison in Europe with herds in Germany, Switzerland, Poland, Belarus and Lithuania.

Regenerative farming mimics this approach. Rewilding ruminants and transitioning pasture-fed farm animals to regnerative practices will help to heal the climate.

In an earlier post I quoted Tom Chi:

… life on earth, if you follow the algorithm of life on earth you don’t need less of it you need more of it right? What earth has been doing over these billions of years is actually making more life and way more diversity of life you know, touching more and more niches – that is the algorithm of life on planet earth… 

Over millenia, as life evolved and became ever-more abundant a beautifully moderate was evolving, until we messed with it. The research behind this article is pointing to our way back to healing the climate.

“This research opens up a whole new raft of options for climate policymakers around the world,” said Magnus Sylvén, the director of science policy practice at Global Rewilding Alliance. “Until now, nature protection and restoration has largely been treated as another challenge and cost that we need to face alongside the climate emergency. This research shows we can address both challenges: we can bring back nature through rewilding and this will draw down vast amounts of carbon, helping to stabilise the global climate.” (from the Guarian article).