In 2014, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) reintroduced several European wood bison into Romania’s Tarcu mountains. Back then, no one could have foreseen how rewilded bison would become an impactful subject of climate change interest.
A decade later, the number has nearly doubled, and according to a study by Yale University, the presence of the bison has had a positive impact on the environment.
This study examined how the reintroduction of European wood bison (Bison bonasus) affected the forest’s ability to capture and store carbon. It showed that although the population now consists of only 170 individuals, the forest’s carbon storage potential had increased by 10 percent. The scientists say that the impact of the rewilded European wood bison on the environment is equivalent to removing up to 84,000 average gasoline-powered cars from the road.
“These creatures evolved for millions of years with grassland and forest ecosystems, and their removal, especially where grasslands have been plowed up, has led to the release of vast amounts of carbon,” lead author of the study, Professor Oswald Schmitz of the Yale School of the Environment told the Guardian. “Restoring these ecosystems can bring back balance, and ‘rewilded’ bison are some of the climate heroes that can help achieve this.”
A brief history of the European wood bison
When most people hear of bison, they think about the North American bison, which used to roam in the millions, if not tens of millions, in the American plains before the 19th century. By the 1890s, this number had dramatically plummeted to around 1,000 because of indiscriminate hunting and the rapid expansion of European American settlers. Equally tragic was the extinction of European wood bison, which used to inhabit much of Europe.
Evidence shows that the European wood bison, also called the wisent, used to occupy the area from France in the west to Russia in the east and from Northern Bulgaria to Southern Sweden. Sadly, the last wild bison in Europe died in Białowieża Forest in Poland in 1919. In the Russian Caucasus, the last one died in 1927. They had been hunted to extinction by poachers and soldiers.
Only around 60 individuals remained in parks and private zoos, and the bison extinction marked a turning point among conservationists.
Reintroduction of European wood bison
Reintroduction efforts began in the 1950s in protected areas. Due to these recovery programs, around 7,000 European wood bison roam freely in Poland, Lithuania, Ukraine, Belarus, and Romania, among other countries.
Since their reintroduction a decade ago, the number of free-ranging bison in Romania has increased from 100 to 170 individuals. The country now has one of the largest free-roaming herds in Europe.
How rewilded bison in Romania combat climate change
The Global Rewilding Alliance has been collaborating with Yale University to create models that calculate the precise amount of carbon dioxide that wildlife helps capture and store. Their goal is to create a feasible scientific way of showing the benefits of rewilding on wildlife, local communities, and the environment.
This model is a groundbreaking tool for examining the impact of animal species — both on land and sea — on carbon storage. By examining the interaction between plants, animals, and microbes, researchers can scientifically demonstrate the benefits of wildlife in enhancing carbon uptake and storage.
In the Tarcu mountains, the scientists calculated that the 170 European bison grazing in an area of 48 km2 of grassland helped capture an additional 54,000 tons of carbon per year. This is about 10 times the capture rate of the area without these large animals.
The study shows that bison have been a keystone species that has been absent in the European ecosystem for decades. Their roaming around the woods, scrubs, and fields for fodder, squishing the landscape with their hooves, and rolling around on the ground are vital since they help plants and other animal species thrive.
A sustainable climate solution
“Our work reveals that wild animals could substantially increase an ecosystem’s carbon budget by 60-90 percent, and sometimes even more, relative to cases where those animals are absent,” said Professor Oswald Schmitz, also the model developer.
Each landscape and climate are unique, and the effects of the European wood bison will not be replicated in every reintroduction scenario. However, the team is looking at other animal species and ecosystems and seeing similar promise. Researchers believe their scientific findings can help policymakers and conservationists formulate conservation policies. We can leverage the natural interactions of wildlife and plants to develop a cost-effective and scalable solution to climate change and carbon management.
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