Bison Herd Consisting of 170 Reintroduced Individuals in Romania Could Store Carbon Emissions Equivalent to 43,000 Cars [Study]

Carbon emission is a major problem in modern times in the context of climate change and the acceleration of the greenhouse effect. Since carbon is a major contributor to global warming, scientists and state leaders over the decades have proposed and implemented different ways to curb such emissions, along with other greenhouse gases like nitrous oxide and methane.

Aside from anthropogenic factors, which can worsen or mitigate the impact of the climate crisis, scientists in the past have also turned to nature to address the problem.

Now, according to a new study, a bison herd consisting of more than 100 reintroduced individuals in Romania could store carbon dioxide emissions. This is reportedly equivalent to thousands of cars in the United States.

Bison Herd in Romania

In the study published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences, researchers found that the reintroduced bison herd in Romania consisting of 170 individuals could help store carbon dioxide emissions. This carbon storage is equivalent to removing the greenhouse gas from 43,000 US cars from the road in a single year, confirming that animals can also help mitigate the climate crisis.

The study led by researchers from the US and Canada shows the rewiring of the carbon cycle through animal-driven ecosystem carbon sequestration. The site of the findings involves free-roaming animals in Romania's Tarcu mountains, where the bison herd stimulate plant growth and strengthens carbon storage in the soil while grazing.

Based on the research findings, the research team addresses the past issue that most carbon cycle models are unable to consider animal-mediated effects in relation to the environment, based on the study published earlier this year.

Curbing Carbon Emissions

The new research paper highlights the role of the carbon cycle in Earth's environment and its relation to animals and even plants. In recent years, scientific literature has repeatedly shown the impact of the current carbon cycle.

According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the excess carbon in the ocean transforms the water to become more acidic, threatening marine life.

What is the Carbon Cycle?

The carbon cycle pertains to the natural flow of carbon across multiple reservoirs such as the atmosphere, the ocean, the soil, and plants. The cycle prevents all of Earth's carbon from entering the atmosphere or from being stored only in rocks, according to NASA Earth Observatory.

Currently, about 65,500 billion metric tons of carbon is stored in rocks, with the rest being in other reservoirs.

The movement of carbon dioxide between rocks, the atmosphere, soil, and ocean takes from around 100 to 200 million years as part of the slow carbon cycle, NASA adds. However, this cycle can be disrupted by the current climate crisis and excessive carbon emissions. The threat posed by carbon is still widespread despite the importance of the said chemical element to living organisms.