12-25-2018, 07:49 PM
In a secret location in the south of the UK, "reporter Graham Lawton witnessed a landscape not seen in that part of the world for the best part of 500 years. “All around me are signs of intensive engineering – not by humans, but by beavers,” he writes from a site where a pair of Eurasian beavers were reintroduced in 2011.
Since then, the team behind the project has found that the animals completely transformed the landscape by felling trees and building dams. A local stream has been turned into a stunningly beautiful series of 13 large pools held back by barriers made of sticks, mud and grass. As a consequence, the area has become more flood resistant, hinting that introducing beavers to other areas may help the UK improve its flood defences."
"Beavers are known as ecosystem engineers. I can see that every inch of the site has signs of ceaseless beavering: felled trees, gnawed stumps, chewed logs and sticks stripped of bark. The stream has been turned into a series of 13 large pools held back by dams made of sticks, mud and grass. The oldest dam resembles a Neolithic earthwork, several metres across and grassed over. It holds a serious amount of water with over a million litres behind dams on the site.
Radiating out from the pools are long, deep canals that the beavers use to move around their territory. Their activity has opened up the dense thicket and biodiversity is thriving. Compared with the monotony of the surrounding farmland, it is stunningly beautiful. “The British landscape would have looked very different when it had beavers in it,” says Elliott.
This isn’t a reintroduction or rewilding project – there are plenty of those elsewhere – but a scientific experiment into how beavers alter the landscape, for both good and ill.
Beavers used to be common across Great Britain but were hunted to extinction for their fur, meat and scent glands. The last written record of a wild beaver in England dates from 1526. It has taken half a millennium to fully realise what we lost.
There is no doubt that beavers can be a nuisance, for example blocking storm drains and gnawing down the wrong trees. But these can be easily managed, says Elliott. For example, they can be fenced in, as the trust has done here.
As we drive back from beaverland, Brazier points out flood defences that have recently been built to protect Exeter city centre. More will be needed as climate change kicks in and rainfall increases. Brazier laments that the government has set aside £15 million for natural flood management but zero for beaver reintroductions.
That may change soon. Despite being a native species, in England and Wales beavers are classed as “not normally resident” and require a license to be released. But under pressure from Brazier and others, the government is reviewing these rules. Environment secretary Michael Gove is said to be receptive. He needs to get busy." https://www.newscientist.com/article/218...landscape/
Since then, the team behind the project has found that the animals completely transformed the landscape by felling trees and building dams. A local stream has been turned into a stunningly beautiful series of 13 large pools held back by barriers made of sticks, mud and grass. As a consequence, the area has become more flood resistant, hinting that introducing beavers to other areas may help the UK improve its flood defences."
"Beavers are known as ecosystem engineers. I can see that every inch of the site has signs of ceaseless beavering: felled trees, gnawed stumps, chewed logs and sticks stripped of bark. The stream has been turned into a series of 13 large pools held back by dams made of sticks, mud and grass. The oldest dam resembles a Neolithic earthwork, several metres across and grassed over. It holds a serious amount of water with over a million litres behind dams on the site.
Radiating out from the pools are long, deep canals that the beavers use to move around their territory. Their activity has opened up the dense thicket and biodiversity is thriving. Compared with the monotony of the surrounding farmland, it is stunningly beautiful. “The British landscape would have looked very different when it had beavers in it,” says Elliott.
This isn’t a reintroduction or rewilding project – there are plenty of those elsewhere – but a scientific experiment into how beavers alter the landscape, for both good and ill.
Beavers used to be common across Great Britain but were hunted to extinction for their fur, meat and scent glands. The last written record of a wild beaver in England dates from 1526. It has taken half a millennium to fully realise what we lost.
There is no doubt that beavers can be a nuisance, for example blocking storm drains and gnawing down the wrong trees. But these can be easily managed, says Elliott. For example, they can be fenced in, as the trust has done here.
As we drive back from beaverland, Brazier points out flood defences that have recently been built to protect Exeter city centre. More will be needed as climate change kicks in and rainfall increases. Brazier laments that the government has set aside £15 million for natural flood management but zero for beaver reintroductions.
That may change soon. Despite being a native species, in England and Wales beavers are classed as “not normally resident” and require a license to be released. But under pressure from Brazier and others, the government is reviewing these rules. Environment secretary Michael Gove is said to be receptive. He needs to get busy." https://www.newscientist.com/article/218...landscape/
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