European bison and other large herbivores help significantly with soil carbon storage. This was the finding of scientific research in the reserve of large herbivores called the European Serengeti located in the Czech Republic near Prague.
The results are said to have been confirmed by research in other reserves where large herbivores live.
“Soils in all large herbivore reserves contained more organic carbon, a higher proportion of stable humus and showed more intense microbial activity than in the control areas. Natural grazing thus contributes to the storage of carbon in the form of stable organic matter, increases the potential fertility of soils and also increases the ability of soils to retain water,” points out Eva Kastovska from the University of South Bohemia, lead author of the research.
According to her, it is thanks to large wild ungulates that black earths, the most fertile soils on the planet, were created.
Scientists estimate that about 390 tonnes of carbon are stored in one-third of the European Serengeti reserve per year. This makes the natural grazing of large ungulates significantly different from that of livestock, which contribute to carbon emissions into the environment and thus to climate change. Moreover, according to research from around the world, grazing by domestic animals leads to soil compaction, loss of organic matter, a decline in soil recovery, and leaching of nitrogenous substances into surface and groundwater.
“For millions of years, large ungulates were part of a balanced system that was carbon neutral. Moreover, they were one of the main factors that brought the necessary dynamism to the landscape and thus played a key role in creating high biodiversity,” added Dalibor Dostal, director of the conservation organisation European Wildlife, which established the European Serengeti large herbivore reserve in collaboration with scientists in 2015. It is home to herds of European bison, wild horses and back-bred aurochs.
Current research from the Czech Republic has confirmed the findings of international research in Romania. A herd of 170 European bison released into the wild in Romania’s Tarcu Mountains could help store CO2 emissions equivalent to removing nearly two million cars from the roads per year. In their research, the scientists used a new model developed by experts from Yale University.
This calculates the additional amount of atmospheric CO2 that wildlife species help to capture and store in the soil through their activity in ecosystems.
The European bison herd in the Tarcu Mountains, which covers an area of nearly 50 square kilometres, captures two million tonnes of carbon per year. This is approximately 9.8 times more than the same area would capture without European bison. The difference is equivalent to the annual CO2 emissions of around 1.88 million average US cars running on petrol.