As Arctic Warms, Beavers Expanding Habitat, Driving Accelerated Melting Of Permafrost & More Warming
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Recently, the Arctic Beaver Observation Network (A-BON), mainly Dr. Helen Wheeler of Anglia Ruskin University, utilized satellites to document the progress of beaver poleward migration.
"Over 12,000 beaver ponds have so far been mapped in western Alaska, with most areas seeing a doubling in the last 20 years. In comparison, analysis of aerial photography of coastal areas of western Alaska from between 1949-55 found no beaver ponds. Beavers are a keystone species, capable of changing landscapes by creating new ponds and diverting the flow of rivers. Ponds created by beaver dams increase surface water, which in the Arctic is causing permafrost to melt, in turn releasing the greenhouse gasses methane and carbon dioxide.
In western Alaska, research has shown that beavers are the dominant factor in almost two thirds (66%) of cases where surface water has increased. These new ponds can also lead to the introduction of other new species, including fish and invertebrates."
The University of Helsinki, writing in 2018, on how beavers change the Climate.
Growing beaver populations have created a large number of new habitats along rivers and ponds. Beaver dams raise the water level, enabling the dissolution of the organic carbon from the soil. From beaver ponds, carbon is released to the atmosphere. Part of the carbon settles down on the bottom, ending up used by plants or transported downstream in the water. "An increase in the number of beavers has an impact on the climate since a rising water level affects the interaction between beaver ponds, water and air, as well as the carbon balance of the zone of ground closest to water," says Petri Nummi, University Lecturer at the University of Helsinki.
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https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2021/12/31/2071978/-Beavers-have-colonized-the-Alaskan-and-Yukon-Tundra-to-the-peril-of-us-all#comment_82571963