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An article from Medium!
“The current environmental issues have caused many environmental issues, that are often interlinked. For example, environmental pollution can cause #environmental decline which causes #biodiversity to decline as well. Biodiversity means the number of plant and animal species growing and living in a certain area. This decline has many different negative consequences, for example for our health…To counteract these negative consequences and restore damage, many initiatives are being taken to increase populations again.
One of the #animal species that is being supported to increase populations again are #beavers. The #beaver population declined between the 1600s to the 1900s because of pelt hunting. Hunting was so intense that it even led to extinction in #Scotland, #Sweden, and #Romania.”
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“At the same time, while beavers have made their way back, we can’t sit still: me must conserve healthy and restore damaged environments. And this not only benefits #beavers, it also benefits many other plants and animals because beavers have a large impact on the ecosystems in which they live. This ecosystem is usually a watershed. A watershed is an area that drains rainwater or melted snow to #streams, lakes, or #wetlands.
#watersheds are complex ecosystems with many interactions, managing beavers’ impact is not a simple task. Interactions exist between #climate, how the land is covered, how the land is used, and the shape of the landscape. These many factors affect the physical, chemical, and biological processes on land and in #streams, causing each #ecosystem to respond differently to #environmental changes. Knowing how #beavers impact their #watershed #ecosystem is important to understand interactions and in turn improve #conservation and #restoration efforts…”
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“Stream shape and structure
The first way beavers affect their #watershed is by changing the shape and structure of the stream and the area around it. The shape and structure are changed because beaver dams change the flow of water:
water forms a pool before the dam, which makes the stream wider and sometimes causes multiple streams
in this pool, dirt, sand, and rocks sink to the bottom. This is called #sediment. The amount of sediment depends on the depth of the stream, the height of the beaver dam, and whether the dam only covers the #stream or extends beyond it
#beavers dig side-channels on the #floodplains. A floodplain is the area around the stream that is mainly formed by sediment and easily floods. Those canals erode over time and connect during floods, which further increases the complexity of the water flow. Whether these changes persist differs…”
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More from Medium on how #beavers affect #watersheds:
“Water movement and storage
The second way beavers affect their watersheds is by changing the movement and storage of water from melted snow and rain. This is because beaver dams cause water to flow slower both before and after the dam. Also, beaver canals in the floodplains above the dam slow the water flow. When water flows slower, rainwater or water from melted snow has the chance to spread in the channels across the #floodplain and be absorbed and stored by the soil. Also, with slower water flows, the length of the path water takes to sink into the #sediment and return to the stream becomes longer.
The advantage of slower flows and increased absorption is that #groundwater supplies are replenished more quickly and more water is stored. This helps the #watershed and wetlands to survive during times of little or no #rainfall.”
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“Water quality
The third way beavers affect their #watersheds is by changing #water quality. Beaver dams change the water quality both upstream and downstream:
upstream, the water slows and pools, so that more heat from the sun can be stored. Warm, slow-moving water speeds the decomposition of organic material and the growth of microorganisms in the water. This causes the water in the beaver #pond to contain more #nitrates and more dissolved organic carbon. Dissolved organic carbons are sugars, proteins, and other large molecules
downstream, the water contains more methylmercury, dissolved organic carbon, and ammonium
How much the water quality is changed both upstream and downstream of a #beaver dam varies throughout the seasons. This is for example because more decomposed organic material and solids can be washed over the dam in seasons with high water levels.”
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“Plant and animal life
The fourth way beavers affect their watershed is by changing — and in many cases increasing — plant and animal life. Which #plants and animals can grow and live in the #watershed changes because the different flow and water retention provide habitats for other species.
For example, animal life changes, as certain #fish species benefit from a dam whereas others don’t. Especially #species that prefer to live in standing water benefit because they have a larger area to live; species that require moving water have less space…
In many cases, plant and animal life not only changes, it also improves. For example, most #reptiles and #amphibians species benefit from beaver dams, independent of whether they live in a #forest, #wetland, or dry climate. This is because they often thrive in the warmer water behind the #beaver dam and can use the land around the dam.”