microplastics-soren-funk-unsplash
The Problem with Plastic: Microplastics are Everywhere, Including in Your Fashion
manduka-hero
How Manduka Is Making Sustainable Strides in the Yoga Industry
does-coconut-milk-go-bad
Does Coconut Milk Go Bad? Here's What a Registered Dietitian Says
january-sustainability-news
Sustainable News Roundup: January Edition
homemade-playdough
The Best Homemade Playdough Recipe for Kids—And How to Naturally Dye It
landfill-makeovers
11 Landfills That Have Undergone Stunning Makeovers
New Study Says Rewilding Animals Could Help the Climate
rewilding-animals

As it turns out, some of the most effective offsets to the climate crisis are also the simplest. New research published in Nature says that reintroducing wildlife to its natural habitat—or rewilding—could help with carbon capture.

What Is Trophic Rewilding?

rewilding animals

Trophic rewilding is an ecological restoration process that focuses on the food webs.

The approach begins at the top, with the hopes that the conservation and repopulation of larger animals (or megafauna) will increase trophic cascades. Ensuring that predators (both carnivores and herbivores) are in place, and hunting prey, improves the overall health of levels of the food web (aka trophic levels)—trophic cascades are the successful implementation of this system.

How Does Rewilding Animals Help Sequester Carbon?

According to the study, the preservation of nine key species—including reef sharks, wildebeest, gray wolves, baleen whales, African forest elephants, and more—could capture up to 6.4 gigatons of carbon per year.

Not only do the larger animals store carbon in their physical bodies, their presence also lends to the health of forests and sea grass, the latter of which absorbs 10% of the ocean’s annual carbon.

Though rewilding isn’t a wholesale solution to climate change, making space for this sort of restoration can only benefit the planet—and the plants and animals that call it home.

cropped-site-icon-white-png.png

Written By:

Related Posts

january-sustainability-news
Sustainable News Roundup: January Edition
From Kroger's initiative that prioritizes pollinators in the supply chain to the world's largest cruise ship setting sail, here are...
landfill-makeovers
11 Landfills That Have Undergone Stunning Makeovers
Landfills are an environmental blight and an eyesore. The good news? Some of these trash heaps have been transformed into...
temu-sustainability
What Is Temu? The Sustainability of the Online Marketplace That Asks Users to 'Shop Like a Billionaire'
After countless TikTok hauls and viral commercials, Temu is trending. But what exactly is the online marketplace—and can companies like...