An international team of scientists led by experts from Aarhus University in Denmark analyzed the role of herbivorous megafauna in ecological systems. The study was published in the scientific journal magazine Nature Ecology and Evolution (NEE).
In modern terms, megafauna refers to elephants, deer and other animals weighing 45 kilograms or more.
Scientists analyzed 297 existing scientific papers and found that wild communities of large herbivores play a complex role in maintaining the biodiversity of forests and other natural areas by increasing the structural variability of vegetation.
Simply put, large animals can eat tall, tough plants that are too tough for their smaller relatives, thus creating space for other types of plants to thrive. They also break trees and trample grass.
“Large herbivores may consume lower-quality foods such as twigs and stems, causing proportionally greater impacts on dominant plant species and thus giving less competitive plants a better chance in competing for sunlight and space,” senior study author Eric Lundgren said. he explained. .
The researchers emphasized that to maintain healthy ecosystems, humans must not only protect existing wild large animals but also help revive their populations in places where the ecological gap of megafauna has not been filled.
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Source: Gazeta
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