KNOWLEDGE BASE

This text presented the results of a beaver monitoring process in the Penza region of Russia. Beaver numbers decreased from 42 to 30 due to limited food resources, but still had been busy - building 7-8 dams per km of river across the study area. The text discussed this population's activity and prospects in detail.

Ecosystem engineers, like beavers, shape the habitats around them but this study shows that they contribute to biodiversity in more ways than just the type of habitat they create. By comparing active beaver ponds with other wetlands in Sweden, researchers found that beaver ponds supported more plants and more beetles. The plants were from more diverse species, too. As the researchers say: "while anyone can make a pond there is only one way to make a beaver pond."

Rewilding aims to restore ecosystems and biodiversity while reconnecting people with nature. This paper proposes a new method for measuring the success of rewilding projects. They apply the method to three projects, including one in the Netherlands where beavers were reintroduced. According to this method, that specific project had been moving in the right direction!

This paper seeks to summarise some key cases of real rewilding projects to inform the rewilding research agenda. In the text, several rewilding project examples are given, several of which included the positive impact of beaver reintroductions on biodiversity. Future research needs are more focussed on scaling up rewilding projects, including financing options.

This text describes some of the key aspects of rewilding, from impacts on biodiversity to those on climate change, as well as a number of practical topics. Beavers are mentioned as a common feature of rewilding projects - often reintroduced for their biodiversity benefits at multiple scales.