Genghis Khan may be associated with brutal battles, but his Mongol invasion was partly environmentally friendly, according to new research.
By examining periods of war and death, researchers at the Carnegie Institution in California have discovered that some actually helped allow forests to re-grow and limit carbon dioxide in the air.
One Toronto expert, however, argues the eco affect of Genghis Khan’s invasion is just a “blip” in climate history.
The study found that short events, such as the Black Death and the Ming Dynasty collapse, were not long enough to overcome carbon dioxide emissions due to deforestation, said Julia Pongratz, the lead author of the study, which was published Jan. 20 in The Holocene.
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