Maximizing the potential benefits of beaver restoration for fire resilience and water storage.

ABSTRACT: Restoring populations of native keystone species can increase landscape resilience to global change when those species create or modify ecosystems. The North American beaver (Castor canadensis) is an ecosystem engineer that increases river water storage and residence time, increasing fire resilience at the landscape level. Beaver populations in North America are significantly lower than they were historically, but over the last decade, beavers have been increasingly recognized for their ecosystem services, and reintroduction efforts throughout their historic range have become more prevalent. Here, we modeled potential beaver dam-building capacity, associated surface water storage, and fire resilience in California's Sierra Nevada, a region at high risk of drought and wildfire. We estimate

SUBMITTER: Moravek JA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12518694 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature