Effects of Beaver Dams and Beaver Dam Analogs on Riparian Carbon Storage in Fire-Impacted Areas in Central Washington
Faculty Mentor
Camille McNeely
Presentation Type
Poster
Start Date
May 2025
End Date
May 2025
Location
PUB NCR
Primary Discipline of Presentation
Biology
Abstract
This study documents the effect of beaver dams on riparian carbon storage in fire-impacted watersheds of central Washington, and provides baseline data to compare effects of man-made Beaver Dam Analogs (BDAs) on soil carbon to those of beaver dams. This project is part of a larger study of BDAs and beaver dams on the restoration of riparian corridors and wetlands in the Methow region of WA. BDAs and beaver dams are expected to cause water velocity to decrease, turbidity to decrease, water level to increase, and cause nutrients (C) to fall to the stream floor. Higher water levels will increase soil moisture and as a result, increase C in the soil. The C in the soil not only helps plants retain water and nutrients in the soil, but increasing C storage in the soil can also be used as a potential climate change mitigation strategy. Soil was collected from 3 beaver sites, 5 control sites, and 5 sites where BDA restoration was planned. Soil samples were collected at varying distances from the stream along 3 transects per site, and at depths of 0-5 cm, 5-10 cm, 10-20 cm, and 20-30 cm. The soil from these transects were then formulated in the lab to get the percentage of C in the soil. For this study, it was hypothesized that the most C in the soil would be found at a depth of 0-5 cm and at sites with beaver activity. These data will help us determine if beaver increase riparian soil organic carbon in our ecoregion, and provide a baseline to study the effects of BDA restoration on riparian soil organic carbon.
Recommended Citation
Johnson, David F. and McNeely, Camille, "Effects of Beaver Dams and Beaver Dam Analogs on Riparian Carbon Storage in Fire-Impacted Areas in Central Washington" (2025). 2025 Symposium. 37.
https://dc.ewu.edu/srcw_2025/ps_2025/p1_2025/37
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Effects of Beaver Dams and Beaver Dam Analogs on Riparian Carbon Storage in Fire-Impacted Areas in Central Washington
PUB NCR
This study documents the effect of beaver dams on riparian carbon storage in fire-impacted watersheds of central Washington, and provides baseline data to compare effects of man-made Beaver Dam Analogs (BDAs) on soil carbon to those of beaver dams. This project is part of a larger study of BDAs and beaver dams on the restoration of riparian corridors and wetlands in the Methow region of WA. BDAs and beaver dams are expected to cause water velocity to decrease, turbidity to decrease, water level to increase, and cause nutrients (C) to fall to the stream floor. Higher water levels will increase soil moisture and as a result, increase C in the soil. The C in the soil not only helps plants retain water and nutrients in the soil, but increasing C storage in the soil can also be used as a potential climate change mitigation strategy. Soil was collected from 3 beaver sites, 5 control sites, and 5 sites where BDA restoration was planned. Soil samples were collected at varying distances from the stream along 3 transects per site, and at depths of 0-5 cm, 5-10 cm, 10-20 cm, and 20-30 cm. The soil from these transects were then formulated in the lab to get the percentage of C in the soil. For this study, it was hypothesized that the most C in the soil would be found at a depth of 0-5 cm and at sites with beaver activity. These data will help us determine if beaver increase riparian soil organic carbon in our ecoregion, and provide a baseline to study the effects of BDA restoration on riparian soil organic carbon.
