Dr. Michael Wayne

The Salamander-Unsung Hero of the Forest

In our fight against global warming, we have an unlikely ally – the tiny salamander!

In North-America, they are actually the most abundant vertebrate, and they eat a lot of insects. This is helpful because this prevents these insects from eating as much of the leaf litter on the forest floor. If this leaf litter is left alone long enough, part of it will turn into humus, a process that sequesters carbon in the soil. Because salamanders eat so many insects, they actually help increase the rate at which forests sequester carbon.

Image taken from https://drmichaelwayne.tempurl.host/blog/franslanting.photoshelter.com/

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