The Science

Key Hypotheses

We will test several hypotheses with global implications. 

H1: Restoring high densities of a diverse group of large herbivores will drive a shift from low productivity moss and shrub tundra to higher productivity grasslands which will, in turn, support higher animal densities.

This new landscape could have several impacts on global climate:

H2: The high productivity grassland will pull much higher quantities of CO2 from the atmosphere and store it in the soil. 

H3: Trampling of snow by herbivores, by removing the insulating effect of snow during winter, will lower ground temperatures and prevent permafrost thaw. 

H4: With fewer shrubs, albedo will increase, directly cooling the planet. 

H5: By shifting ecosystems from waterlogged soils to grasslands, herbivores will indirectly reduce CH4 emissions more than enough to compensate for the CH4 the animals produce. 

A new herbivore-maintained landscape could also have benefits for northern ecosystems and people living with warming 4x higher than the global average: 

H6: By increasing trophic complexity and making the landscape more heterogeneous, herbivores will maintain or increase biodiversity, limit wildfire risk, and make species and ecosystems more resilient to climate change.