Add this to the list of benefits beavers can bring to streams. Honestly it seems like we need to ALL stop being surprised very very soon.
Beavers can convert stream corridors to persistent carbon sinks
Beavers could engineer riverbeds into promising carbon dioxide sinks, according to a new international study led by researchers at the University of Birmingham. The paper, published in Communications Earth & Environment, has for the first time calculated the carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted and sequestered due to engineering work done by beavers in suitable wetland areas.
Dr. Joshua Larsen, from the University of Birmingham and lead senior author of the study, said, “Our findings show that beavers don’t just change landscapes: they fundamentally shift how CO2 moves through them. By slowing water, trapping sediments, and expanding wetlands, they turn streams into powerful carbon sinks. This first-of-its-kind study represents an important opportunity and breakthrough for future nature‑based climate solutions across Europe.”
Get the hell out. I’m so old that I remember when there was a series of articles claiming beaver dams CAUSED global warming. Now they are preventing it?
By building dams, beavers flood stream margins, create wetlands, alter groundwater pathways, and trap large amounts of organic and inorganic material, including CO2. This study suggests that efforts to further rewild beaver populations in suitable wetland areas could have a major benefit, with large amounts of carbon able to be captured, stored, and prevented from re‑entering the atmosphere.
Guess what? Beavers that ARE NOT RELOCATED can create carbon sinks too. Weird isn’t it?
