Grassfed bison, often called America’s majestic grassland natives, are experiencing a resurgence not only for their exceptional nutritional benefits but also for their vital environmental role in prairie ecosystems.
Nutritional Benefits
Grassfed and pastured bison meat is also renowned for being lean and nutrient-dense, and provides a rich source of essential nutrients, including:
- Iron: Key for oxygen transport in the blood and energy production.
- Vitamin B12: Vital for nerve function and red blood cell formation.
- High-quality protein: Supporting muscle growth and repair with relatively low fat.
Healthy omega-3 fatty acids: Grassfed bison often can contain higher levels of omega-3s compared to grain-fed livestock, which can help support human heart and brain health.
Prairie Regeneration
Grassfed bison contribute significantly to prairie regeneration through several ecological processes linked to their natural behaviors and grazing patterns:
- Diverse Grazing Patterns: Bison graze selectively and differently across seasons and land conditions, nibbling on top grasses while leaving deeper-rooted plants intact. This selective grazing creates a mosaic of plant species and promotes biodiversity, unlike the monoculture that often results from overgrazing by cattle. Rotational grazing mimics their natural movement, allowing grazed areas to recover and regenerate.
- Soil Fertilization and Health: Bison droppings naturally fertilize the soil with key nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, enhancing soil fertility over time. Their hooves also aerate compacted soil, improving water infiltration, soil structure, moisture retention, and reducing erosion. These actions boost microbial activity and increase organic matter.
- Prairie Ecosystem Restoration: Bison’s cyclical grazing, fertilizing, and resting of the land restore prairie ecosystems by supporting healthy native plant communities, increasing plant diversity, and fostering resilience. Their presence helps control weeds naturally, reducing the need for chemical fertilizers and pesticides.
- Biodiversity Enhancement: Studies show that bison reintroduction leads to increased plant diversity, shrub and woody vegetation cover near streams, and greater diversity in bird and mammal species. Their grazing behavior is associated with positive biodiversity outcomes in riparian and prairie habitats, which are crucial ecosystems under pressure from agriculture and climate stress.
- Carbon Sequestration and Climate Resilience: Healthier prairie vegetation supported by bison grazing captures more carbon in the soil, aiding in climate change mitigation. Their behavior promotes deeper-rooted plants and improved soil organic matter content, which contribute to carbon storage and greater ecosystem resilience to drought and heat.
- Unique Impacts: Bison wallowing behavior—rolling on the ground to shed fur and avoid insects—creates depressions that support unique plant and insect communities not found in open prairie, further enhancing ecological diversity—an effect absent in cattle grazing.
These factors position grassfed and pastured bison as ecological engineers and keystone species that help restore and sustain prairie landscapes naturally, supporting both biodiversity and soil health in a way that modern livestock farming methods often cannot replicate. Their role is critical in regenerative grazing systems aimed at harnessing natural processes for sustainable land management
Sources:
The Bison Experiment: Restoring Native Prairie and Wildlife Habitats
https://www.nationalforests.org/blog/the-bison-experiment-restoring-native-prairie-and-wildlife-habitats-with-bison
Regenerating the Land with Bison – Green Cover Seed
https://greencover.com/regenerating-the-land-with-bison/
What Does Long-Term Bison-Grazed Prairie Look Like? – Prairie Botanist
https://prairiebotanist.com/2022/06/11/what-does-long-term-bison-grazed-prairie-look-like/
The American Bison: How This Powerful Icon Is Restoring the Prairie – One Earth
https://www.oneearth.org/species-of-the-week-american-bison/
Bison: (Back) Home on the Range – Mongabay
https://news.mongabay.com/2020/06/bison-back-home-on-the-range/