Encouraging beavers key element in countryside Animals’engineering skills vital to biodiversity
A recent 12-year study in Perthshire has shown beavers to be ‘exceptional’ at rebuilding wetlands in Scotland.
Scientists from the University of Stirling have been studying the animals at a private estate in Blairgowrie for 12 years, in what is the first scientific study to measure the environmental benefits of beavers’ activity over time. This comes after the beavers were re-introduced to Scotland after being extinct in the country for the past 400 years.
The study found plant richness rose by 46%, and the number of different plants recorded more than doubled in this time, thanks to the beavers, demonstrating their ability to help the problem of substantial wetland loss in Scotland.
Professor Nigel Willby from the university, who co-wrote the paper which was published in the Science of the Total Environment journal, said: “Wetlands are tremendously imporant environments for biodiversity. They also serve to store water and improve its quality - they are the ‘kidneys of the landscape’. However, the world’s wetlands are disappearing at an alarming rate - the latest estimate suggests that almost two thirds have been lost since 1900.
“Beavers are renowned for their engineering skills, like dam building, and are now being considered as tools for restoring wetlands. They have been reintroduced widely, including in Scotland, partly for this purpose and our findings demonstrate the surprisingly large benefits they can bring to biodiversity.”
The university scientists have been studying the beavers in Blairgowrie since 2003, and in that time the beavers constructed over 195 metres of dams, 500 metres of canals, and an acre of ponds, as well as encouraging the complexity of vegetation to grow by 71%.
Dr Alan Law, the study’s co-author, added: “We know lots about the benefits of beavers in natural settings, but until now we did not know the full extent of what they can achieve in present-day landscapes where restoration is most needed.
“Wetland restoration normally involves raising water levels, for example by ditch blocking, plus mowing or grazing to maintain diversity. Beavers offer an innovative, more hands-off solution to the problem of wetland loss, provided their populations are suitably managed and protected. Seeing what beavers can do for our wetlands and countryside highlights the diverse landscape we have been missing for the last 400 years.”
Scottish Natural Heritage, who helped fund the Blairgowrie beavers study, will now go on to use the findings of the research to look at how beavers can be integrated into the Scottish countryside. The university study says beavers could help the natural environment