Mastodawn

"43 Years Ago, Scientists Dropped Gophers Onto a Volcano. Today, They’re Tiny Heroes."

"After the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens devastated the local environment, scientists set a few gophers loose on some patches of ground, hoping they would kick up bacteria and fungi.

That uncovered fungi … created a microbial community that allowed plant life to better obtain and retain nutrients."

#Washington #PNW #Wildlife #Gophers #Environment #MountSaintHelens

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ahimsa

I've read about this before but can't remember where. It might have been this article in Smithsonian Magazine (2024)

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/how-a-team-of-gophers-restored-mount-st-helens-after-its-catastrophic-eruption-with-less-than-a-day-of-digging-180985459/

How a Team of Gophers Restored Mount St. Helens After Its Catastrophic Eruption With Less Than a Day of Digging

After the volcanic eruption of 1980, scientists released the burrowing rodents for only a brief time, but their activities left a remarkably enduring impact, according to a new study

Smithsonian Magazine