Elephants do a lot of damage to plants as they stomp around the jungle, but, counterintuitively, this activity increases the biomass of the forest, letting it store more carbon. If elephants were to go extinct, the amount of carbon stored in central African rainforests could ultimately fall by 7 per cent, according to a new analysis.
[https://www.newscientist.com/article/2209729-elephants-help-forests-store-more-carbon-by-destroying-smaller-plants/](https://www.newscientist.com/article/2209729-elephants-help-forests-store-more-carbon-by-destroying-smaller-plants/)