<
https://coloradosun.com/2024/04/19/fighting-wildland-fire-with-beavers-colorado/>
"While Western forestry experts accept some wildfire as redemption for the
landscape, they’ve also learned that out-of-control megafires can do more harm
than good. Now a new study puts a spotlight on the small, cartoon-cute
creatures ready to serve as a stalwart defense against raging, 100,000-acre
firestorms: the humble, hardworking beaver.
River segments hosting beaver-created dams fared far better during and after
megafires than riverscapes without beaver activity, leaving pockets of intact
habitat crucial for wildlife, and protecting waterways from runaway erosion, a
study published in
The Geological Society of America in January found.
“Every presentation I’ve seen the last handful of years that has to do with
these big fires, there’s an … aerial photo of a sea of black with this green
island in the middle,” said Clay Ramey, fisheries biologist for the
Aspen-Sopris Ranger District, who was not an author of the study. “That’s the
beaver pond.”
The study, led by University of Minnesota Twin Cities ecohydrologist Emily
Fairfax, investigates three megafires that took place partially or wholly
within Colorado borders in 2020 — Cameron Peak, East Troublesome and Mullen —
which together burned 579,603 acres.
Using a combination of infrared and optical satellite imagery, as well as field
observations, a team of nine scientists assessed the burn severity along
streams within the fire scars. They then compared reaches of stream that had
beaver dams to stretches without, and to the surrounding forest.
“Beaver-modified riverscapes are resistant to megafire-scale disturbance,” the
authors wrote. “This resilience is directly attributable to beaver dam- and
canal-building activity.”
There are many related benefits for native plant species, terrestrial and
aquatic wildlife, river health and human communities downstream of the burn
scar, according to researchers. In fact, beaver habitat is proving so valuable
for wildfire mitigation and restoration that restorationists are imitating
these rodents across the state."
Via
Reasons to be Cheerful:
<
https://reasonstobecheerful.world/what-were-reading-living-wildlife-crossing/>
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
