New Scientist cites a growing pile of evidence that animals are unrecognised but powerful drivers of carbon capture. Ecologists have calculated that ecosystem-shaping animals enable recovering ecosystems to capture eye-popping amounts of carbon. So can restoring their populations turn the tide against climate change, asks Graham Lawton. The science of Animating the Carbon Cycle (ACC) highlights the importance of wild animals in carbon accounting and points to an important solution to solve our legacy carbon debt: rewilding.
To start making ACC happen at scale, ecologists are now applying the Yale/GRA carbon storage methodology to numerous existing and potential rewilding projects worldwide, all with a view to figuring out which would have the biggest impact. There is hope to reveal the world’s ‘Rewilding Hotspots’; locations that hold the most promise for helping to stabilise the global climate by helping nature’s recovery.
The article is on the New Scientist website, and has also been added to the ACC website Resource Library.