In a decades long study, American bison—also called buffalo—provided nearly three times the environmental benefit to prairie ecosystems as cows, and researchers aren’t yet sure why
, part of a coordinated effort to deny a key food source to Native American populations. The new study’s findings suggest that ongoing efforts to reintroduce bison into their former range could have enormous benefits not only to Native peoples and their culture, but also to the land and natural environment, tribal buffalo program manager for the National Wildlife Federation’s Tribal Partnerships Program, who was not involved in the new study.
In the herbivore-free plots, much of the landscape was covered by just four species of native grasses: big bluestem, Indian grass, switchgrass, and little bluestem. However, when bison and cattle were allowed to mow these species down, other, less dominant plants were able to thrive.Researchers at the Dunn Ranch Prairie in Missouri put Crittercams on bison to see how they interact with the ecosystem.One particular beneficiary was a tall, flowering forb known as rigid goldenrod.
“Bison also go around forming disturbances in the soil, called wallows,” says Ratajczak. “These are areas where they roll around and shake off their winter fur, and that creates this little hot spot of very different types of soil characteristics you wouldn’t find otherwise.”
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