Retention potential of beaver dams for surface water storage in the Czech landscape
The Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber) is an important ecosystem engineer that alters the hydrological regime of the landscape through its activities. The aim of this study was to quantify the volume of surface water retained by beaver dams in the Czech landscape and to estimate the potential retention capacity of a selected catchment assuming the maximum predicted extent of beaver colonisation. The main focus of the research was to determine the volume of surface water accumulated behind 150 beaver dams at sites in the Plzeň Region (the Křemelná catchment and ten other selected wetlands) and the inundated area of the associated beaver ponds. GIS analyses based on a combination of precise geodetic data and a digital terrain model were used for the calculations.