Ecosystem experiment reveals benefits of natural and simulated beaver dams to a threatened population of steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

Bouwes, Nicolaas; Weber, Nicholas; Jordan, Chris E.; Saunders, W. Carl; Tattam, Ian A.; Volk, Carol; Wheaton, Joseph M.; Pollock, Michael M.

doi:10.1038/srep28581

Cited by 142 publications

(176 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…The absence of a groundwater response was unexpected. Previous studies have monitored and described groundwater rise upstream of beaver dams in Colorado (Westbrook et al, ), and proximal to BDAs at a study on Bridge Creek, Oregon (Bouwes et al, ). However, groundwater on Fish and Campbell Creeks appears to be strongly controlled by multiple factors, including floodplain stratigraphy and the presence of natural dams.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sediment storage and shallow groundwater response to beaver dam analogues in the Colorado Front Range, USA

Scamardo

Wohl

2020

River Research & Apps

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Enthusiasm for using beaver dam analogues (BDAs) to restore incised channels and riparian corridors has been increasing. BDAs are expected to create a similar channel response to natural beaver dams by causing channel bed aggradation and overbank flow, which subsequently raise water tables and support vegetation growth. However, lack of funding for monitoring projects post‐restoration has limited research on whether BDAs actually cause expected channel change in the Front Range and elsewhere. Geomorphic and hydrologic response to BDAs was monitored in two watersheds 1 year post‐restoration. BDAs were studied at Fish Creek, a steep mountainous catchment, and Campbell Creek, a lower gradient piedmont catchment from May to October 2018. At each restoration site, the upstream‐ and downstream‐most BDAs were chosen for intensive study in comparison with unrestored reference reaches. Monitoring focused on quantifying sediment volumes in BDA ponds and recording changes to stream stage and riparian groundwater. Despite differences in physical basin characteristics, BDA pools at both sites stored similar volumes of sediment and stored more sediment than reference pools. Sediment storage is positively correlated to BDA height and pool surface area. However, BDAs did not have a significant influence on shallow groundwater. The lack of groundwater response proximal to BDAs could indicate that local watershed factors have a stronger influence on groundwater response than restoration design 1 year post‐restoration. Systematic, long‐term studies of channel and floodplain response to BDAs are needed to better understand how BDAs will influence geomorphology and hydrology.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sediment storage and shallow groundwater response to beaver dam analogues in the Colorado Front Range, USA

Scamardo

Wohl

2020

River Research & Apps

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“…While beaver channel modification cannot prevent agricultural soil erosion, the reintroduction of beavers into headwaters may provide a means by which to trap sediment (and associated nutrients) in ponds and reconnect floodplains, limiting negative downstream impacts. For example, in North America beavers are increasingly used as a cost‐effective restoration tool to restore incised and eroding stream systems (Pollock et al ., 2014) and also to restore channel heterogeneity and fish habitat (Bouwes et al ., 2016). Results presented herein go some way to demonstrating that this could also be a viable strategy within the agricultural landscapes which prevail in Western Europe.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sediment and nutrient storage in a beaver engineered wetland

Puttock

Graham

Carless

et al. 2018

Earth Surf Processes Landf

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Beavers, primarily through the building of dams, can deliver significant geomorphic modifications and result in changes to nutrient and sediment fluxes. Research is required to understand the implications and possible benefits of widespread beaver reintroduction across Europe. This study surveyed sediment depth, extent and carbon/nitrogen content in a sequence of beaver pond and dam structures in South West England, where a pair of Eurasian beavers (Castor fiber) were introduced to a controlled 1.8 ha site in 2011. Results showed that the 13 beaver ponds subsequently created hold a total of 101.53 ± 16.24 t of sediment, equating to a normalised average of 71.40 ± 39.65 kg m2. The ponds also hold 15.90 ± 2.50 t of carbon and 0.91 ± 0.15 t of nitrogen within the accumulated pond sediment.The size of beaver pond appeared to be the main control over sediment storage, with larger ponds holding a greater mass of sediment per unit area. Furthermore, position within the site appeared to play a role with the upper‐middle ponds, nearest to the intensively‐farmed headwaters of the catchment, holding a greater amount of sediment. Carbon and nitrogen concentrations in ponds showed no clear trends, but were significantly higher than in stream bed sediment upstream of the site.We estimate that >70% of sediment in the ponds is sourced from the intensively managed grassland catchment upstream, with the remainder from in situ redistribution by beaver activity. While further research is required into the long‐term storage and nutrient cycling within beaver ponds, results indicate that beaver ponds may help to mitigate the negative off‐site impacts of accelerated soil erosion and diffuse pollution from agriculturally dominated landscapes such as the intensively managed grassland in this study. © 2018 The Authors. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

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“…Habitat restoration is one conservation action described in a multiagency conservation strategy developed for the species (UDWR 2011), and beaver reintroduction and the use of beaver dam analogues are increasingly being used in stream restoration, especially in incised stream channels in the interior western USA that typically have low habitat complexity (Bouwes et al, 2016;Cluer & Thorne, 2014;Marston, 1994;Pollock et al, 2014). Habitat restoration is one conservation action described in a multiagency conservation strategy developed for the species (UDWR 2011), and beaver reintroduction and the use of beaver dam analogues are increasingly being used in stream restoration, especially in incised stream channels in the interior western USA that typically have low habitat complexity (Bouwes et al, 2016;Cluer & Thorne, 2014;Marston, 1994;Pollock et al, 2014).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Beaver dams, streamflow complexity, and the distribution of a rare minnow, Lepidomeda copei

Dauwalter

Walrath

2017

Ecology of Freshwater Fish

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Freshwater fishes are threatened globally, and often too little is known about threatened species to effectively guide their conservation. Habitat complexity is linked to fish species diversity and persistence, and degraded streams often lack habitat complexity. Beaver Castor spp., in turn, have been used to restore streams and increase habitat complexity. The northern leatherside chub Lepidomeda copei is a rare, smallbodied, drift-feeding minnow that has anecdotally been observed to use complex habitats associated with beaver dams in the western United States. To investigate this anecdote, we conducted fish and habitat surveys, the latter focusing on quantifying habitat complexity, in a sub-basin of the Upper Snake River Basin in the USA.Complementary generalised linear model and path analyses revealed that northern leatherside chub occurred more often at sites with complex streamflows, and streamflows were more complex when beaver dams were present and pools were deeper.Northern leatherside chubs were also more likely to occur when temperatures were warmer, aquatic macrophytes were abundant and stream channels were narrow and deep. The linkage between chubs, complex streamflows and beaver dams needs to be evaluated more broadly to completely understand its role in the rangewide status of the species. However, it does suggests that increased use of beaver reintroductions and dam analogues for stream restoration could be a boon for the northern leatherside chub, but such efforts should be monitored to determine their effectiveness to help adapt beaver-based restoration approaches to best benefit the species. K E Y W O R D Sbeaver dams, dam analogues, distribution, habitat diversity, northern leatherside chub, path analysis, restoration

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Ecosystem experiment reveals benefits of natural and simulated beaver dams to a threatened population of steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

Cited by 142 publications

References 45 publications

Sediment storage and shallow groundwater response to beaver dam analogues in the Colorado Front Range, USA

Sediment storage and shallow groundwater response to beaver dam analogues in the Colorado Front Range, USA

Sediment and nutrient storage in a beaver engineered wetland

Beaver dams, streamflow complexity, and the distribution of a rare minnow, Lepidomeda copei

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