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Photo Credit: Dr. Anais Zimmer |
Introducing llamas (Llama glama) into land exposed by retreating glaciers can speed the establishment of stable soils and ecosystem formation, mitigating some of the harmful effects of climate change, according to experimental research conducted by scientists at The University of Texas at Austin and partner institutions in Peru.
“Glaciers are melting rapidly around the world, creating unstable and dangerous landscapes, acid rock drainage, and land rushes for mining that are disrespecting local and Indigenous land rights,” said Tim Beach, professor of geography and the environment and one of the paper’s authors. “The research shows that llamas, when managed by Indigenous herders, are accelerating soil fertility and plant succession.”
The study is published in Nature Scientific Reports.
Land exposed by glacial melting initially has low nutrient soil that is inhospitable to vegetation. Without intervention, these landscapes can take hundreds of years to stabilize.