Beavers have created wetland areas that keep pockets of the landscape lush even as drought grips parts of England. The dams and ponds hold water and slow its flow, providing a refuge for wildlife in otherwise parched countryside.
How Beaver Wetlands Help
The wetlands also offer grazing and water sources for livestock, maintain river flows for water abstraction, protect against sudden floods if heavy rain falls on baked ground, and can act as a firebreak if wildfire breaks out. Beavers, like humans, engineer their surroundings to suit them.
Beavers' Comeback in Britain
Once widespread across Britain, beavers were hunted to extinction about 400 years ago. They have since made a comeback through licensed reintroductions, introduction into enclosures, escapes, and unlicensed releases, and now live wild on several river catchments.
Devon's Beaver Wetlands in Action
Aerial images of the river Otter catchment in Devon, where beavers have been living under a licensed trial since 2015, show lush wetland vegetation despite the surrounding landscape being parched. Drought was officially declared in Devon on Wednesday, and parts of the county have not seen rain for 50 days.
Expert Insights
Dr Alan Puttock from the University of Exeter said modern landscapes are extensively drained, causing water to run off quickly, raising flood risk and leaving little water in dry periods. Beaver wetlands, he explained, hold water, maintain wetlands, and benefit both biodiversity and people.
Each wetland pond holds 1,000 cubic metres of water, reduces peak flows by 30%, and releases water slowly through leaky dams, maintaining rivers and increasing drought resilience.
“One beaver wetland won’t solve all of our drought problems,” Dr Puttock said. “But overall, as beavers expand in our landscapes, and also as we do other nature-based solutions or wetland creation schemes – overall increasing that resilience in the landscape – it does mean that we are less prone to droughts.”
Fire Protection
With extreme drought raising wildfire risk, evidence from the US shows beaver wetlands can provide a firebreak. “Having these wet landscapes can provide that firebreak,” he said.
