A new study conducted by Yale University and Humboldt University argues that the more than 170 free-roaming bison in Romania’s Southwestern Carpathians could contribute to the capture and storage of the equivalent carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted by nearly 2 million gasoline vehicles every year.
The bison, an emblematic species that disappeared from Romania over 200 years ago, was reintroduced in the Țarcu Mountains through a successful collaboration between WWF-Romania (World Wide Fund for Nature) and Rewilding Europe. From 2014 to the present, over 100 individuals have been brought to this region.
More than 170 bison are now in the Țarcu Mountains, making it one of the largest wild populations in Europe.
Notably, the bison herds are not fed supplementary food, ensuring that the reintroduced individuals disperse and adopt a natural behavior. In a varied ecosystem, interactions are more complex, and their functionality increases.
The study conducted by Oswald J. Schmitz (Yale University), Matteo Rizzuto (Yale University), and Gabriele Retez (Humboldt University of Berlin and WWF-Romania), with the support of the Global Rewilding Alliance, WWF-Netherlands, and Rewilding Europe, showed that bison have a significant impact on reducing the effects of climate change by increasing ecosystems’ capacity to store carbon.
Through a new mathematical model, it is now possible to calculate the additional amount of atmospheric carbon dioxide stored within habitats, including their faunal component. According to the research, a group of 170 bison grazing an area of 48 km² of open habitats (grasslands and forest patches) within a larger area of 300 km², contributes to the additional storage of approximately 2 million tons of carbon per year, nearly ten times more than that stored in the absence of the species. This amount is equivalent to the annual carbon dioxide emissions from 1.88 million gasoline vehicles.
The model is being implemented in various regions worldwide, in collaboration with partners from the Global Rewilding Alliance. The data on bison in the Southwestern Carpathians constitute the first results obtained from the study.
The reintroduction of bison aimed not only at bringing this emblematic species back to the Romanian landscape and creating a viable population in the Southwestern Carpathians but also at improving ecosystem functionality and promoting sustainable tourism. This study shows that the project also substantially contributes to combating climate change.
“Our research has shown that the presence of wild animals can significantly enhance an ecosystem’s capacity to store carbon, with an increase of 60-95%, sometimes even more, compared to situations where these species are absent,” said professor Oswald Schmitz from Yale University, the lead author of the report and creator of the model.
“This has the potential to improve carbon capture and storage in ecosystems globally, by at least 6.4 billion tons per year. This amount rivals any of the top five steps proposed by the IPCC for rapidly reducing net emissions, including the rapid transition to solar and wind energy,” he added.
The bison reintroduction project was implemented with financial support from the European Union, through its LIFE program (LIFE Bison 2016-2021 and LIFE with Bison 2024-2029), as well as through sponsorships from the Dutch Postcode Lottery, Cartier for Nature, Fondation Ensemble, and other donor organizations.
(Photo source: WWF Romania; by Daniel Mirlea)
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