KNOWLEDGE BASE

Elk can damage plant populations by over-eating. Fences to protect certain areas work by excluding other animals but the exclusion of all mammals may not always be needed to allow plants to recover. This article reports on a new fence design which excludes elk but allows access for other species like deer and beavers. The new fence was successful, keeping out elk (and cattle) but allowing access for other mammals including beavers. Aspen trees protected by this fence ended up growing taller over a 2-year period.

This text describes how landslides - often overlooked - have an important role in maintaining biodiversity. Landslides create completely new landscapes and soil conditions. They can interact with other disturbances like fire and avalanches. Animals like beavers often colonise landslide areas, using the debris and new landscape to build dams and and increase habitat diversity.

This study aimed to work out how and why willow populations had changed over the 20th century in Yellowstone National Park, USA. The researchers propose that eliminating the wolf led to elk outcompeting the beavers. As beaver dams were no longer maintained, water levels reduced and rivers begun to dig deeper into the land in a process called incision. These two changes made it more challenging for willow to grow. This change in geology means that, even with wolf populations returning, it may not be easy to restore the previous ecosystem functions without addressing these underlying hydrological shifts.

This article summarises efforts to reintroduce beavers to Britain, some of the sources of human-beaver conflict, and the potential beavers have to the environment, including in supporting climate adaptation efforts. Please note, this resource is not open-access.

This article summarises efforts to reintroduce beavers to Britain, some of the common misconceptions about beavers, and the ecological role that beavers play. Please note, this resource is not open-access.