Eager beavers experts at recreating wildlife-rich wetlands, study reveals

Four re-introduced beavers in Scotland engineered a network of dams, canals and ponds that left the landscape ‘unrecognisable’ from the original

Research on Scottish beavers reveal how they re-engineer the river landscape; natural flood management

Damian Carrington Guardian    The extraordinary ability of beavers to engineer degraded land into wildlife-rich wetlands has been revealed by a new study in Scotland. Scientists studied the work of a group of four re-introduced beavers over a decade and found their water engineering prowess created almost 200m of dams, 500m of canals and an acre of ponds. The result was a landscape “almost unrecognisable” from the original pasture that was drained over 200 years ago, with the number of plant species up by nearly 50% and richly varied habitats established across the 30 acre site.

Beavers were hunted to extinction in the UK in the 17th century, but a few hundred now live in Scotland, where they are now deemed a native species again. Interest is growing rapidly in controlled releases in the rest of the UK, where only a few dozen live, with a group in Devon being monitored closely and an application for reintroduction in Wales being considered.

The researchers say their new work provides solid evidence that beavers can be a low-cost option in restoring wetlands, an important and biodiverse habitat that has lost two-thirds of its worldwide extent since 1900. “Wetlands also serve to store water and improve its quality – they are the ‘kidneys of the landscape’,” said Professor Nigel Willby, at Stirling University and one of the study team. Earlier research by the team showed how beaver dams can slow water flows, reducing downstream flood risk and water pollution.

Beavers build their elaborate waterworks to create pools in which they can shelter from their traditional predators, bears, wolves and wolverines. The new research, published in the journal Science of the Total Environment, regularly surveyed the site near Blairgowrie in Tayside where two beavers were released in 2002 and began to breed in 2006. Beavers live 10-15 years in the wild and the average number of beavers present during the study was four. Click here to read more