Extinction of large animals would accelerate climate change | Peru Trade – Trade

A study published in the journal Science Advances warns that first extinction of animals Plus has serious implications for ecological interactions, depleted forests and accelerates the change Climate .

The study, conducted by Spanish researchers, Colombian and Brazilian Paulista State University (UNESP), together with scientists from England and Finland, shows that large animals maintain diversity and ecosystem services and, therefore, their disappearance has “unexpected and devastating to the environment”.

The study analyzes effects for the first time what happens when large frugivorous -the disappear that feed mainly fruit-, “that are crucial for reforestation and natural regeneration of forests,” explains the researcher of the Biological Station of Doñana and study co-author Pedro Jordano.

“And is that because of their diet, these animals such as toucans, tapirs, or large primates eat lots of fruits of plants, large seeds after defecate or regurgitate back into the forest and in proper condition for germination. That is, they are responsible for planting the forest, “says the researcher.

This does not only favor these animals but also to forests,” is what we call an ecological interaction mutual, ie, that favors both parties. “

The study, conducted in forests of southeastern Brazil, has shown that” forest areas without frugívoros have a storage capacity much less carbon than forests which are well preserved, and therefore its potential to counteract the effects of climate change is much lower, “says Jordan.

” The trees that have large seeds are trees large size, dense wood, which store more carbon, “says Mauro Galetti Professor Department of Ecology of the UNESP.

The work is important because it shows that the loss of these animals is deteriorating ecological interactions that are crucial to the environment and generate a chain reaction.

“Not only do we face the loss of charismatic animals, we face the loss of interactions that maintain the proper functioning of ecosystem services keys, such as carbon storage, “says Jordan.

The findings are extrapolated to the entire planet, as more than 90% of the woody species of trees and shrubs from around the world and 60% of Mediterranean forests depend on frugivorous to preserve recalls Jordan.

Therefore, the study suggests that reforestation programs and compensation for carbon emissions, so-called programs REED +, taking into account This ‘mutualism’ and contemplate these animals as a fundamental part of the ecosystem.

And so far, the REED + programs have only taken into account forest disturbances caused by man, as the extraction Wood and the presence of fuegos- without realizing that “forests are apparently intact may be defaunados and therefore can be degraded forests,” says the professor of Tropical Conservation Ecology at the University of East Anglia (UK) Carlos Peres.

The warning research and the importance of considering the animals and its functions as an essential part of the forest.

“The actions REDD should not be left alone to restore vegetation cover, but ecological processes. More ambitious targets should be set: not only to recover a forest but all the functionality of a forest, with all its elements, “proposes Jordanian

Source:. EFE