Beavers are Engineers of Structural Complexity and Biodiversity

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Beavers_work.jpg

I find the link to the article below interesting since it seems to concentrate on how we can restore streams by mimicking beaver behavior.  Why not just bring beavers back into the landscape and they will take care of the job themselves?  This is a fundamental flaw in our way of thinking.  Even conservationists can fall into this trap.  If something has to be managed, then there is probably a better way of doing it.  Better to engineer an environment fit for the engineer, than to do the engineering yourself.  Humans should be the administration, not the labor.

Either way the article does stress how important beavers can be in the landscape.  This is something that anyone interested in nature knows to a certain degree.  They create ponds, braided channels, log jams, and add huge amounts of woody debris to streams and rivers.  Their actions create environmental complexity which greatly increases aquatic biodiversity.  They play a fundamental part in hydrology and recharge the water table.  They also play a fundamental role in riparian forest dynamics, creating structural diversity and keeping the forest in a state of flux.  There are entire ecological communities that depend almost completely on the actions of the beaver, making them a cornerstone species.

The fact that broad scale ecology-based agriculture tends to rely so heavily on retention ponds just stresses this fact even further.  Keyline design relies heavily on the retention of water in the landscape.  The idea is to keep it there as long as possible so it can percolate into the ground, recharging aquifers and smoothing out flood regimes.  These ponds and channels are often used for fish and plant aquaculture and to provide water for livestock.  Recharging the aquifers also increases plant growth and can create perennial water ways out of seasonal ones.  Biodiversity and micro climates are increased along with drought resistance. 

These are all benefits provided by beavers but even Keyline cannot provide all the services that beavers do.  Ultimately, Keyline is static while beaver activity is constantly in flux.  Keyline does not include the organic component of wood in the process, a major part of structural diversity and nutrient cycles.  It also does not include the forestry activities of beavers.  We can continue to try and engineer our way out of our problems, but isn't that what got us into them in the first place?

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/01/110103110331.htm