Smokey the Beaver: how beaver dams keep riparian corridors green during droughts and wildfires

The recorded presentation is available on the Video page.

7:00 PM Meeting starts, doors will open at 6:30 PM

Talk Summary: Beaver dams and beaver mimicry (e.g. Beaver Dam Analogs) are gaining popularity as a low‐cost, nature-based strategy to build climate resiliency at the landscape scale. Beavers slow and store water in their ponds, canals, and the surrounding soil during wet periods which can then be accessed by riparian vegetation during droughts. As a result, the well-watered vegetation in beaver-dammed riparian corridors is less flammable. My research has shown that these beaver-influenced patches of the landscape stay green and can serve as fire refugia, preserving intact, mature riparian habitat – even during fires here in the Great Lakes Region. Perhaps instead of relying solely on human engineering and management to create and maintain drought and fire‐resistant waterways and riparian zones, we could benefit from partnering with beaver’s ecosystem engineering to achieve the same goals at a lower cost.

Presenter Bio:  Emily Fairfax is an Assistant Professor of Geography at the University of Minnesota and an affiliate faculty member at the Saint Anthony Falls Laboratory. Dr. Fairfax double majored in Chemistry and Physics as an undergraduate at Carleton College, then went on to earn a PhD in Geological Sciences with an emphasis in Hydrologic Sciences from the University of Colorado Boulder. She uses a combination of remote sensing, modeling, and field work to understand how beaver ecosystem engineering can create drought and fire-resistant patches in the landscape under a changing climate.  Her research has been featured internationally in National Geographic, the New York Times, the LA Times, BBC, Vox, and others. When Dr. Fairfax says she can talk about beavers all day, she’s not kidding.