Lavanya- Beavers

Beavers, nature's engineers and climate heroes, are a keystone species in the temperate and boreal forest aquatic ecosystems. In British Columbia, the beavers are found throughout the province in lakes, along rivers and streams, and even in the brackish, tidal waters along the coast, where it can be observed in sloughs and along the shoreline.
Beavers feed entirely on plants and provide a fireproof habitat for plants and a number of aquatic, semi-aquatic, and terrestrial animals to live and thrive in. Because beavers help control the flow of water, they can support the restoration of ecosystems needed to respond to climate change and wildfires.
Beavers open up opportunities for a diverse ecosystem by providing deadwood habitat, allowing sunlight to reach the understory vegetation, and providing rich habitat for insects, birds, and amphibians. The beaver population has delivered significant ecological benefits including new wetland habitat and increase in fish population.
This map compares beaver observation locations and wildfire occurrences during 2022-2023 and is based on the research analogy shared by Dr. Emily Fairfax: 'the beaver wetlands are too wet to burn, Beavers= Firefighters'.

Lavanya Gopal GIS | Data Science | Remote Sensing | Engineering