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Sergey Zimov: “Thawing permafrost is a direct threat to the climate”
Beyond the Arctic Circle in the heart of northern Siberia Russian scientist Sergey Zimov has created Pleistocene Park to reconstitute the ecosystem of the Ice Age by reintroducing large herbivore species into the former Mammoth steppe where the soil had become severely depleted Restoring these ecosystems could also help halt the thawing of the permafrost a gigantic layer of glacial ice that traps billions of tons of organic carbon As it melts the microbes that dwell here quickly convert formerly frozen organic matter into carbon dioxide and methane The release of these greenhouse gases as a result of climate change is a threat that has long been ignored
