KNOWLEDGE BASE

This presentation recounts the story of reintroducing beavers to Croatia, a story which started in 1992. By 2011, around 400 beaver families lived in Croatia, occupying many rivers in the western half of the country. The presentation suggests a management plan is needed to protect beavers and manage their impacts on agriculture. Please note, this resource is not open-access.

In this article, scientists write about the finding that Eurasian beavers' food choices in Poland are influenced by their habitat and the availability of different tree species. In lowlands, they preferred willow and poplar species. In the highlands, they favoured hazel and rowan due to limited willow and poplar availability. Beavers in highlands also had to travel further for food and ended up cutting larger trees.

This study assessed a river basin in coastal Oregon, USA, for sites which may be suitable beaver habitats. The aim was to inform river restoration efforts and increase habitat for local salmon. The study tested a computer model, finding some helpful results, but the authors also noted that the model didn't fully capture all aspects that influence whether a beaver will likely settle down in a specific area.

Deadwood is an important part of forests' biodiversity. In this study, researchers examined how beavers contributed to deadwood near dams in a Polish National Park. They found that most of the deadwood in the area was not formed directly by beaver cutting the trees, but by the area being flooded (which, in turn, was likely caused by the beavers' dam). Beavers did create small amounts of small-diameter deadwood. The researchers suggested that frequent flooding could reduce deadwood in the long term.

Researchers studied the habitat preferences of Eurasian beavers in northern Poland. Beavers favoured areas with plenty of woody plants and avoided human-modified habitats such as agricultural land. They also seemed to plonk their homes right in the middle of areas with especially high concentrations of woody plants. Lots of different factors are shown to come into play when beavers choose where to build their lodges.