A small herd of 170 bison, released into a 20 square miles area of Tarcu mountains in Romania, are estimated to allow the land to capture 59,000 tones of carbon each year.
Big animals like this, stimulate the soil and plant growth, allowing the soil and plant growth to take up far more carbon than without them. Although Romania is one of the wildest countries in Europe, the European Bison was lost around 200 years ago. Between 2014 and 2021, 100 bison were reintroduced into the area, and that population has naturally grown such that there are now 170.
Scientists estimate that the lands carbon storing potential is as much as 10 times greater with the bison (they suggest that it is between 5 and 15 times more carbon.
Given the vast historic range of the European bison, much of Europe’s wilderness could have the same treatment, potentially increasing the carbon uptake of vegetation and the top soil, across the continent by many millions of tonnes. This also ignores the huge potential of the species to generate tourism where it is added, which with careful planning, can be used to pull many communities standards of living up – so benefitting both humans and wildlife.
While this cannot be extrapolated beyond Europe, animals such as forest elephants in Africa, and Musk ox in North America and Asia are likely to have a similar effect. Forest elephants are critically endangered, but here is a clear reason to protect them better (and if we can find ways to pay for the forest elephants protection through carbon credits, it is likely that the population can grow significantly). Musk ox however, are least concern – reintroducing them, and increasing their number, could therefore happen relatively rapidly, and potentially be reaping carbon benefits within a decade or two.