SINCE they were reintroduced to Scotland as part of a trial, beavers have been working hard to make their mark on land they were once an integral part of, before being hunted to extinction in the 16th century.
And new research from Stirling University highlights that this tenacious mammal is succeeding in bringing huge benefits to the biodiversity of the environments they have been released in.
Known for their exceptional dam building skills, the wetland work naturally carried out by beavers in Tayside has, according to a study, contributed to a 46 per cent rise in the richness of local plants and a doubling of the total number of plants recorded.
The benefits of beavers has long been established for natural settings, but until now the full extent of what the species could achieve in modern landscapes, where restoration is needed, was not known.
With natural wetlands disappearing at an alarming rate, the results of this 12-year study will make promising reading for those who care about Scotland’s natural heritage.
And with the animals recently given protected status by the Scottish Government, the scene could now be set for further managed reintroductions.
Mother nature so often provides the answers to environmental issues; it seems beavering away may well be the way forward.
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