Beavers fighting drought in Czechia are “ecosystem engineers,” says zoologist
Despite the rainier days in the second half of August, the Czech Republic continues to face a long-term moisture deficit. One solution that can significantly help combat drought is beaver dams.
Soutok Protected Landscape Area is located at Czechia’s border with Austria and Slovakia, close to the town of Břeclav. While the surrounding landscape is parched, beaver dams retain water in wetlands, pools and parts of meadows. This allows rare plants and animals to survive there. Conservationists estimate that around 500 beavers live in the Soutok and nearby Podluží areas.
According to zoologist Rudolf Jureček, the significant presence of beavers in the area can be identified based on their scent markers.
“They have a place where they mark their territory. These are little mounds made of soil and vegetation, onto which they leave a scent marker from their anal glands. It has a rather distinctive smell. The beaver is an ecosystem engineer. It doesn’t ask anyone and doesn’t need any permits, but especially during periods of drought, it is an important factor that can locally retain water and improve the condition of habitats.”
Beaver dams can range from several dozen centimeters to as much as two meters in height.
“It is essentially a wooden structure. Wood is the foundation. The beaver seals it with clumps of aquatic plants or mud, particularly in places where the water would otherwise flow through. It packs the material down with its front paws, creating a kind of mud seal.”
Thanks to beavers, some meadows in the area are flooded with water. What may seem like an inconvenience to people is actually essential for nature and many diverse species. Wet meadows are the only habitat where certain species can survive. One of them is a crimson plant known as great burnet. Rudolf Jureček again.
“We can see it everywhere here. It is quite an unusual plant – It looks as if it has already finished flowering, with these red seed heads. The scarce large blue is a species of butterfly that depends on it; it is its only host plant.”
According to water-management specialist Ondřej Berka, drought has affected areas this year that even longtime residents cannot remember ever seeing dry.
“One individual episode of drought does not cause much damage. What is worse is if these catastrophic droughts we are experiencing now continue to occur repeatedly. What we call catastrophic drought today could become a normal summer in 20 years.”
As scientists point out, if droughts continue over the long term, the composition of plant and animal species in the area will change. And although beavers could help, the question remains whether they will be able to survive at all under such changed and inhospitable conditions.
