Department of Geography and Planning, Centre for Hydrology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5C8, Canada.
Department of Geography and Planning, Centre for Hydrology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5C8, Canada.
Sci Total Environ. 2021 Sep 1;785:147333. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.147333. Epub 2021 Apr 24.
Beaver (Castor canadensis and Castor fiber) are regarded widely as ecosystem engineers and the dams they create are well-known for their ability to drastically alter the hydrology of rivers. As a result, beaver are increasingly being included in green infrastructure practices to combat the effects of climate change and enhance ecosystem resilience. Both drought and flood mitigation capabilities have been observed in watersheds with beaver dam structures; however, how dams possess contrasting mitigation abilities is not fully understood since most studies neglect to acknowledge variation in beaver dam structures. In this study, an extensive cross-site survey of the physical and hydrologic properties of beaver dams was conducted in the Canadian Rocky Mountains in Alberta. This research aimed to improve the understanding of the hydrology of beaver dams by categorizing dams using their intrinsic properties and landscape settings to identify fundamental patterns that may be applicable across landscape types. The dam flow type classification from Woo and Waddington (1990) was evaluated in this new context and adapted to include two new flow types. The survey of intrinsic beaver dam properties revealed significant differences in dam structure across different sites. Physical differences in dam structure altered the dynamics and variance of pond storage and certain dam attributes related to the landscape setting. For instance, dam material influenced dam height and water source influenced dam length. However, a closer analysis of large rain events showed that the physical structure of dams alters seasonal dynamics of pond storage but not the response to rain events. Overall, this research shows that beaver dams can be both structurally and hydrologically very different from each other. Establishing broadly applicable classifications is vital to understanding the ecosystem resilience and mitigation services beaver dams provide.
海狸（Castor canadensis 和 Castor fiber）被广泛认为是生态系统工程师，它们建造的水坝以其改变河流水文状况的能力而闻名。因此，海狸越来越多地被纳入绿色基础设施实践中，以应对气候变化的影响，增强生态系统的恢复力。在有海狸坝结构的流域中，已经观察到干旱和洪水缓解能力；然而，由于大多数研究忽略了承认海狸坝结构的变化，因此尚不完全了解水坝如何具有相反的缓解能力。在这项研究中，对加拿大阿尔伯塔省落基山脉的海狸坝的物理和水文学特性进行了广泛的跨站点调查。这项研究旨在通过使用内在特性和景观设置对水坝进行分类，以提高对海狸坝水文特性的理解，从而识别可能适用于各种景观类型的基本模式。Woo 和 Waddington（1990）的坝流类型分类在这种新背景下进行了评估，并进行了调整以包括两种新的流型。对内在海狸坝特性的调查揭示了不同地点之间坝结构的显著差异。坝结构的物理差异改变了池塘存储的动态和方差，以及与景观设置相关的某些坝属性。例如，坝材料影响坝高，水源影响坝长。然而，对大雨事件的更仔细分析表明，坝的物理结构改变了池塘存储的季节性动态，但不会改变对雨事件的响应。总的来说，这项研究表明，海狸坝在结构和水文方面彼此之间可能存在很大差异。建立广泛适用的分类对于理解海狸坝提供的生态系统恢复力和缓解服务至关重要。
