Rivers of the dammed: how should beavers fit and function in UK landscapes?

海狸是自然界最多产的“生态系统工程师”之一，能够通过其独特的能力来建造水坝并改变水，沉积物和营养物质的流动，从而从根本上重塑河流系统和周围景观。这是一个戏剧性的生态位建设，改变了洪泛区的水和植被分布，创造了与我们熟悉的现代河流截然不同的景观。包括英国在内的欧洲大部分地区的景观都因人类活动而发生了巨大变化。由于长期的工程和土地使用的改变，河道及其洪泛区的形态、水文和生态系统发生了巨大变化。然而，在长期缺席之后，英国正在跟随许多其他欧洲国家的脚步，促进海狸的重新引入。该项目将研究这种重新引入对河流系统功能的影响。欧洲海狸曾经广泛分布在欧洲，然而，由于人类的压力，包括栖息地丧失和狩猎，它从大部分自然范围消失了。近几十年来，土地和河流管理越来越注重与自然进程合作，而不是反对自然进程。在此背景下，人们对重新引入野生海狸如何为生物多样性和洪水风险提供生态系统服务和效益产生了极大的兴趣，包括国家信托在内的组织开始了受控的重新引入项目。虽然研究已经发表检查海狸对景观过程的许多影响，但我们对海狸重新引入后景观变化的理解仍然存在很大的差距。该项目将捕捉重要的水文，地貌和植被变化，因为它们发生在与国家信托基金会直接合作的释放现场。与瑞士和德国成熟的海狸再引入项目形成对比的潜力。学生将捕获水文变化的数据，并根据研究差距和他们的兴趣/专业知识进一步调查相关变化。潜在的子课题包括：o与大坝/洪水事件相关的沉积物储存/流动性o洪水衰减的体积/停留时间o生物地球化学循环o河岸生态系统群落组成

Beavers are one of nature's most prolific "ecosystem engineers", able to radically reshape river systems and the surrounding landscape, through their unique ability to build dams and alter the flow of water, sediment, and nutrients. This is a dramatic niche construction that changes the distribution of water and vegetation across floodplains, creating very different landscapes to the ones we are familiar with in modern rivers. The landscape across much of Europe, including the UK, has been greatly altered by human activity. River channels and their floodplains have seen large changes to morphology, hydrology and ecosystems through prolonged engineering and changing land use. However, after a long absence, the UK is following in the footsteps of many other European countries and facilitating the re-introduction of beavers. This project will examine the impact of this re-introduction on the functioning of river systems. The European beaver was once wide-spread across Europe, however, through a combination of pressures from humans including habitat loss and hunting it disappeared from much of its natural range. Over recent decades there has been an increased focus within land and river management towards working with, rather than against natural processes. Against this backdrop there has been a great deal of interest in how reintroducing wild beavers could deliver ecosystem services and benefits to biodiversity and flood risk, with organisations including the National Trust starting controlled reintroduction projects. Although research has been published examining numerous effects of beavers on landscape processes there remains substantial gaps in our understanding of landscapes change following beaver reintroduction.This project will capture important hydrological, geomorphic and vegetation changes as they occur at a release site in direct collaboration with the National Trust. With the potential to contrast this with mature beaver reintroduction projects in Switzerland and Germany. The student will capture data on hydrological changes, with further investigations in associated changes as informed by research gaps and their interests/expertise. Potential sub-topics include:o sediment storage/mobility in association with dams/flood eventso volumes/residence times of woodo flood attenuationo biogeochemical cyclingo riparian ecosystem community composition