Streams in agricultural areas benefit from beavers

Beavers make streams more dynamic and biodiverse. (Photo: Mark Giuliucci, Flickr, CC BY-NC 2. Beavers are master builders that reshape aquatic landscapes with their dams and lodges. The environments they inhabit experience an increase in the biodiversity of aquatic organisms, for example. Now, for the first time, an Eawag study from the wine-growing region known as "Zürcher Weinland" has shown that this is also true for streams in areas given over largely to agriculture. The rodents could therefore be interesting partners when it comes to enhancing bodies of water. Eradicated at the start of the 19th century, beavers can now be found once again almost anywhere across the length and breadth of the country.