A first-of-its-kind study reveals that beavers have a surprisingly efficient way to safely store carbon dioxide.
Repealing EPA’s climate findings is bad news for public health
Nothing has changed in the science of climate change. There is overwhelming evidence to suggest that greenhouse gases are the main cause of global warming.
Forget about groundhogs and their weather forecasts. Now our fellow animals, beavers, are actually doing their part to fight climate change, dam by dam, a new study says.
The new study, published March 18 in the journal Communication, Earth & Environment, calculates for the first time the amount of carbon emitted and sequestered by engineering work performed by beavers in suitable wetland areas.
“Our results show that beavers don’t just change the landscape; they fundamentally change how carbon dioxide moves through them,” lead author Joshua Larsen of the University of Birmingham, UK, said in a statement.
Beavers turn streams into powerful carbon “sinks” by slowing water, trapping sediment, and expanding wetlands. This is an important part of the Earth’s carbon cycle. Carbon dioxide is the greenhouse gas that is the most significant cause of human-induced global warming.
Larsen said the first-of-its-kind study represents a significant opportunity and breakthrough for future nature-based climate solutions across Europe.
What is a carbon sink and why is it important?
A carbon sink is a system that stores more carbon than it releases, said study co-author Lucas Hallberg from the University of Birmingham. “This means that carbon is trapped in soil, sediment, or vegetation rather than being emitted into the atmosphere.”
“This is important because gases such as carbon dioxide and methane cause climate warming. The longer you can store carbon in the landscape, the less it is emitted into the atmosphere. So carbon sinks act as a kind of natural buffer against climate change,” Hallberg said in an email to USA TODAY.
Where was the research conducted?
The study, led by several European universities and a number of international partners, was carried out in a stream corridor in northern Switzerland where beaver activity has been observed for more than a decade.
Beavers are ‘powerful agents of carbon capture and adsorption’
“Our study shows that beavers are powerful agents of carbon capture and adsorption,” said study co-author Annegret Larsen, assistant professor in the Soil Geography and Landscape Group at Wageningen University in the Netherlands. “By reshaping waterways and creating rich wetland habitat, beavers physically change how carbon is stored across the landscape.”
Researchers estimate that if scaled up to all floodplain areas suitable for beaver recolonization in Switzerland, beaver wetlands could offset 1.2% to 1.8% of the country’s annual carbon dioxide emissions, providing climate benefits without active human intervention or economic costs, the University of Birmingham said.
How was the beaver chosen as a research species?
“Beavers are a unique wildlife species that, unlike other animals, has the ability to reshape entire river valleys from a hydrological and ecological standpoint,” Hallberg told USA TODAY.
Overall, after decades of concerted conservation efforts, beavers are increasingly returning to rivers and other natural landscapes across Europe, the study says.
“Their extensive damming efforts often yield ecological benefits similar to those we humans attempt with engineering approaches, such as creating wetlands and floodplains,” Hallberg said.
“The continued recovery of beavers, particularly in Europe, gives us an opportunity to further assess how and where these environmental benefits can be realized and further support wildlife management decision-making.”
Were the researchers surprised by their findings?
“Yes, we were very surprised,” Hallberg said. On an annual scale, he said, “we knew the system could be a different source and sink of carbon, but we didn’t understand how much water flow and extent controlled this. When it’s wetter, it’s more of a sink, and when it’s drier, it’s more likely to be a source of carbon.”
“We were really surprised by the magnitude of it in terms of long-term storage of carbon,” he said. “We went to great lengths to ensure that we were able to obtain as accurate an estimate as possible without running the risk of overestimating the amount.”
Are there other examples of wildlife contributing to the fight against climate change?
Most of nature’s carbon storage is done by plants, so forests, peatlands, and wetlands all store carbon through plant growth and the accumulation of organic matter. In some cases, organisms like peat-forming mosses can actually build entire landscapes that store carbon over long timescales, Hallberg said.
“What’s unique about beavers is that, as animals, they actively reshape landscapes in a similar way: by building dams, they create wetlands that trap and store carbon,” he says.
“They are therefore rare examples of wildlife directly engineering new carbon stocks, rather than simply being part of the system,” he concluded.
In an email to USA TODAY, study co-author Annegret Larsen provided additional perspective, noting that “ecosystem engineers[like beavers]are key to maintaining well-functioning ecosystems, which can increase environmental resilience and help mitigate climate change.”
“Beavers are a prominent example, but there are others as well. For example, caddisfly larvae stabilize riverbeds, earthworms are essential for soil fertility, and burrowing animals facilitate soil infiltration. The range of such ecosystem engineers is wide-ranging.”
