![]() ![]() The secret of the tremendous carbon storage potential of grasslands is in its roots, which extend for metres below the ground. Grasslands are also turning out to be one of the most resilient ecosystems to climate change. Plemel-Stronks said two hectares of grasslands can be home to more than 100 plant species, in addition to endangered species like the black-footed ferret and swift fox. ![]() Photo: Amber Bracken / The Narwhal ‘They’ve kind of been forgotten’ Plemel-Stronks on the Lomond Grazing Association lease in southern Alberta. We can’t repair it if we don’t know what existed before it was broken,” she said.Īfter decades of destruction, people like Fox and Plemel-Stronks are taking things into their own hands to preserve the native grasslands that are left and bring the damaged land back from the brink. “We don’t fully understand all of the components that are essential for the soil ecosystem. That same one inch can be lost in a generation of mismanagement,” said Mickenzie Plemel-Stronks, cattle industry liaison for Ducks Unlimited Canada.Īnd a lot of life and carbon sequestration happens far beneath the surface of the grasslands and is still a mystery to humans. “One inch of topsoil takes about 500 to 1,000 years of building. Much like old-growth forests, these grasslands can’t be replaced because they developed slowly over thousands of years. Over the past 150 years, between 75 and 90 per cent of Canada’s grasslands have been eradicated for agriculture and other development including roads, towns and industry. The problem is, when grasslands are cultivated they lose up to half of their stored carbon and stop offering these ecosystem benefits. The grazing reserve harbours untilled native prairie, as well as wetlands, and is a refuge for many endangered species. “You get so much leverage out of nature-based solutions, whereby you sink carbon using nature, you create habitat for at-risk species, you create resilience because you manage floods better, you filter water because of the extensive root systems these plants have - you get a whole broad suite of benefits,” he said.ĭry mix grass prairie on the Lomond Grazing Association lease in southern Alberta. The charity helps farmers enhance the “ecosystem services” the land provides, such as clean air, clean water, carbon sequestration, flood mitigation and wildlife habitat. “If you’re serious about greenhouse gas reductions, you have to make considerations for nature-based solutions,” said Bryan Gilvesy, CEO of ALUS Canada, a charity that works with farmers to restore habitat on their land. ![]() Map: Alicia Carvalho / The NarwhalĪnd more attention is being paid to that carbon after a study published in 2017 found nature-based climate solutions could provide up to one-third of emissions reductions needed under the Paris Accord, which intends to keep global temperature increases below 2 C. Between 75 and 90 per cent of the grasslands have been eradicated. The original extent of Canada’s native prairie grasslands. ![]()
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