Bison: Helping Us Keep Climate Change At Bay

Last week I had the chance to talk to Corinne Le Quéré, a very respected scientist who specializes in the carbon cycle. She wrote a paper a decade ago about the Southern Ocean, and how it is losing efficiency as a carbon sink. I asked her to explain what exactly a carbon sink is, and she said it's a system that absorbs more carbon than it emits. Carbon sinks are our lifeline to a safe climate future.

I started reading about climate sinks and found this wonderful article, which brings together a few of my favorite climate change adaptation topics: farming, land management, entrepreneurship, and conservation. And huge, majestic creatures too. It reminded me of that fantastic Russian father and his son, who are trying to bring back the mammoth to fight back permafrost thawing in Siberia—only while being more realistic.

The story revolves around a ranch in South Dakota, which has shifted from herding a mix of domestic cattle and bison to only the latter. This has resulted in an improvement of the soil, which benefits from the nomadic lifestyle of the animals. They move from pasture to pasture allowing time for the grass to recover,  and fertilizing it. A healthier soil allows for grass with longer roots, the cornerstone of a healthy carbon sink.

“These grazing, trampling and recovery patterns were key in building soil, maintaining biological diversity and deepening plant roots, which are a key element in permanent carbon sequestration,” Ibarra-Howell said. “Over time, the wild herds and their pack-hunting predators were decimated and replaced by small numbers of domestic, sedentary livestock.”

This article is part of a wonderful series by The Weather Channel on different aspects of climate change from the 50 states of the Union. It'll take me time to read them all, but don't be surprised if you see more of them appear here on my piqd profile. If they're as good as this one, be sure they will.