Large herbivores stop biodiversity loss in tundra

2023/06/23 Etxebeste Aduriz, Egoitz - Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Ekologia
• Ingurumena

The loss of biodiversity in tundra is occurring more slowly in areas with large herbivores. This conclusion has been reached after 15 years of monitoring the tundra biodiversity. The results have been published in Science.

Researchers note that between 2002 and 2017 the biodiversity of the tundra has decreased due to increased temperature. However, it is clear that there is a significant difference between the presence of large herbivores such as snow deer and mosquette ox. In fact, you've seen that in plantations where there were no herbivores, biodiversity was lost twice as quickly.

In addition, you have seen that the diversity of herbivores is also important, as each species pruns differently and this promotes biodiversity. Thus, researchers suggest that promoting the diversity of herbivores could help mitigate the consequences of climate warming.