Beaver dam

Uncommon card · No. 181053

A beaver dam or beaver impoundment is a dam built by beavers; it creates a pond which protects against predators and holds food during winter. Beavers build prolifically at night, carrying mud with their forepaws and timber between their teeth. Dams include other wild materials also found in the region, such as rocks and other organic materials. These structures modify the natural environment in such a way that the overall ecosystem builds upon the change, making beavers a keystone species and ecosystem engineers. In native regions, these dams reduce downstream flooding, clean water, help restore and maintain wetlands and provide important firebreaks in fire prone regions. Abandoned damns gradually silt-over and decompose leaving rich soil that gradually becomes other ecological niches. Inspired by the positive effects on the environment, humans build Beaver Dam Analogues (also known as BDAs) that can provide similar ecosystem services, deliberately deployed for water retention in the...

Read on Wikipedia · Image Franklin Vera Pacheco / w:en:Franklin.vp (talk | contribs), CC BY-SA 3.0