We like our beaver pond, but the beavers are a bit too ambitious.
Here’s how they operate.
Haemig PD (2012) Ecology of the Beaver. ECOLOGY.INFO 13,
The forest beside the stream also changes after beaver occupation.
When beavers cut down trees for food and for building their dams and
lodges, they select the species of trees that they prefer, and leave
other tree species standing. Consequently, after many years, the
forest beside a beaver pond is usually dominated by different tree
species than it was before beaver occupation, and in the gaps where
the beavers removed trees, bushes and saplings now grow and with
them the animal species that live in the early stages of forest
regeneration (Barnes and Dibble 1986; Johnston and Naiman 1990;
Pastor and Naiman 1992; Donkor et al. 2000). In addition, when the
beaver pond is formed by the dam, water floods and covers the roots
of trees that formerly stood along the stream bank. These flooded
trees die because the standing water prevents their roots from
getting air….
In Wyoming, a survey showed that owners of private lands believed
that they benefited from beaver engineering because Continue reading →
