Beavers may be unlikely climate heroes, but new research suggests they could play a powerful role in fighting climate change. By building dams and transforming streams into wetlands, these industrious animals dramatically reshape how carbon moves and is stored in landscapes. Over just 13 years, a beaver-engineered wetland in Switzerland stored over a thousand tonnes of carbon—up to ten times more than similar areas without beavers.

cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/35830530

cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/35829489

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The UK gov is going through a process of introducing beavers to various regions for this reason. Some environmentalists will not wait for the bureacracy to play out and have started releasing beavers without a controlled process, which is apparently illegal.