Wolves have been gone from the Scottish Highlands for more than 200 years, and in their absence red deer have proliferated. Researchers say that returning wolves to the Highlands would keep deer in check, allowing large areas of native woodland to regrow.
Red deer are fond of eating tree saplings, and as their numbers rise in northern Scotland, they are suppressing the growth of forests. Researchers modeled the impact of bringing wolves back to four large wildlands, finding that they would thin deer herds to the point where they stop eradicating fledgling forests.
Researchers estimated that restored Scottish woodlands would absorb 1 million tons of carbon dioxide each year. The findings were published in Ecological Solutions and Evidence.
Native woodland currently covers just 4 percent of Scotland, making it among the barest countries in Europe. Where trees are regrowing, they are largely behind fences. Authors note that Britain values each ton of carbon sequestered by woodland at $32. At that level, they say, the average wolf would be worth $194,000 annually.
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