To avoid releasing billions of tons of carbon from warming permafrost, scientists in the Pleistocene Park, in the wilds of Siberia, are attempting to reestablish the ecosystem as it was 20,000 years ago. They believe the actions of grazing animals can help keep the ground from thawing. Bison from Alaska will soon join other grazing animals there.
Source: Fast Company, April 23, 2018, Link.
Permafrost is a huge carbon reserve,” says Nikita Zimov, director of Pleistocene Park, a reserve that is beginning to rebuild the landscape of the past. “We want permafrost to stay frozen in order for the carbon not to [be emitted] as greenhouse gases . . . we argue that with our park, with the ecosystem we want to create, it’s possible to do that.”