Mitigating Climate Change
Context:
- A report from Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru (IISc) has shown that Grazing animals can have a significant impact on the stability of soil carbon in grazing ecosystems.
About the research:
- The scientists from Indian Institute of Science had experimented by removing grazing animals from the grasslands which resulted in high degree of fluctuations in soil carbon.
- This research was done in association with Himachal Pradesh State government, local authorities and the people of the Kibber village in Spiti.
- Alternate plots were created with grazing animals in one and no grazing animals in other plot to infer the difference in the soil carbon.
Statistics:
- The report has discovered that the soil carbon fluctuated 30%–40% higher in the fenced areas than in the plots where animals were permitted to graze.
- According to the researchers, grazing ecosystems including grasslands, shrublands, and steppe savannahs make up around 10% of India and 40% of the planet.
- These ecosystems have historically supported almost the entire global megafauna and are the habitat of reptiles, birds, and amphibians.
- Alternate land uses have put such “drylands” at danger.
Way Forward:
- Grazing ecosystems reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide by storing carbon in the soil.
- For all of this, large mammals are essential. Unfortunately, just a few parks and reserves are home to mammals
- Domestic livestock has long since displaced animals in other places.
Source The Hindu
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