Hydraulic Modelling of Eurasian Beaver Structural Modifications: Implications for Evaluating their Contributions to Natural Flood Management in Scotland
(2023) VBRM15 20231Division of Risk Management and Societal Safety
- Abstract
- The concurrent climate and biodiversity crises in Scotland necessitate the exploration of ecosystem-based adaptation to simultaneously address increased flood risk and the loss of native species. This research investigated the contributions of Eurasian beaver reintroductions to natural flood management in Scotland. It did this by reviewing the relevant literature on the primary structural modifications built by beavers and translating them into modellable features. A 1D hydraulic model of a small Scottish river system was then built and the presence of these structures simulated to analyse their effects on flooded areas during a 1 in 10-year event. Several key findings emerged that suggest these structures can have a marginal net... (More)
- The concurrent climate and biodiversity crises in Scotland necessitate the exploration of ecosystem-based adaptation to simultaneously address increased flood risk and the loss of native species. This research investigated the contributions of Eurasian beaver reintroductions to natural flood management in Scotland. It did this by reviewing the relevant literature on the primary structural modifications built by beavers and translating them into modellable features. A 1D hydraulic model of a small Scottish river system was then built and the presence of these structures simulated to analyse their effects on flooded areas during a 1 in 10-year event. Several key findings emerged that suggest these structures can have a marginal net attenuative effect on a hyper-local scale, but with significant uncertainty dependent on dam size and channel morphology. There were divergent upstream and downstream effects that were not reflected in total flood extent calculations. The modelling process brought about a critical examination of the utility models in assessing the contributions of beaver reintroductions to the field of natural flood management, concluding that models are inherently limited in their ability to capture the complexity of natural systems. Insights from the theories of complex adaptive systems and deep ecology further complicate what it means to evaluate the contributions of non-human species to flood risk management, and whether their ecosystem services should be the sole justification for their reintroduction. (Less)
- Popular Abstract
- Modelling Beaver Impacts on Flooding in Scotland & Implications for their Reintroduction
Modelled structures built by beavers can marginally reduce net flooding during high-likelihood flood events. Scotland is forecasted to experience more frequent and severe flooding due to climate change while it grapples with widespread biodiversity loss of native species. Beaver reintroductions have the potential to contribute to flood management, but further research is needed to evaluate their impacts.
This study modelled the structures built by beavers in a Scottish river system which resulted in a slight decrease in total flooded areas during a 1 in 10-year flood event in 4 out of 6 modelled scenarios. However, the effects were highly dependent... (More) - Modelling Beaver Impacts on Flooding in Scotland & Implications for their Reintroduction
Modelled structures built by beavers can marginally reduce net flooding during high-likelihood flood events. Scotland is forecasted to experience more frequent and severe flooding due to climate change while it grapples with widespread biodiversity loss of native species. Beaver reintroductions have the potential to contribute to flood management, but further research is needed to evaluate their impacts.
This study modelled the structures built by beavers in a Scottish river system which resulted in a slight decrease in total flooded areas during a 1 in 10-year flood event in 4 out of 6 modelled scenarios. However, the effects were highly dependent on dam dimensions. Results showed that smaller dams within channels reduced flooding more significantly than ‘average’ dams, but large
dams that extended out into the floodplain increased total flooding. Beaver reintroductions are being rolled out across Scotland and this research responded to a need to better understand the relationship between beaver presence and flood risk to explore their role in ecosystem-based adaptation. There is also a need to evaluate the risks and rewards of using models to capture complex ecosystems, as they inherently simplify systems to better understand them. Models are also embedded within value systems, and the way in which purely human-oriented value systems have bled into flood risk analysis has resulted in reducing species to their ecosystem services. This begs the question: if species do not serve us, does that mean they should not exist? Expanding value systems to appreciate the intrinsic and emergent benefits of native species is important to avoid continuing a pattern of natural exploitation; a mentality that arguably contributed to the climate and biodiversity crises as they stand today. Literature on beaver
ecology and their impacts on river systems frequently report how the structures they build are dependent on the local environment, which makes modelling their reintroduction to individual channel systems essential but difficult. Average values of beaver dam dimensions alongside other beaver-modified structures reported in the literature were used to model this species, but data scarcity meant several assumptions had to be made that contributed to the uncertainty of the model. This process revealed that models are limited in capturing the complexity of beaver systems and their value beyond ecosystem services. This work can be used to inform the methodologies of future studies that attempt to address beaver impacts on flood risk in new areas. The ethical and philosophical issues that arose from this study should be considered in future ecological modelling studies. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9123884
- author
- Pitcairn, Maja Christina LU
- supervisor
-
- Misse Wester LU
- organization
- course
- VBRM15 20231
- year
- 2023
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- Beaver reintroduction, Scotland, Flood risk, Natural flood management, Hydraulic modelling.
- language
- English
- id
- 9123884
- date added to LUP
- 2023-06-14 10:34:47
- date last changed
- 2023-06-14 10:34:47
@misc{9123884,
abstract = {{The concurrent climate and biodiversity crises in Scotland necessitate the exploration of ecosystem-based adaptation to simultaneously address increased flood risk and the loss of native species. This research investigated the contributions of Eurasian beaver reintroductions to natural flood management in Scotland. It did this by reviewing the relevant literature on the primary structural modifications built by beavers and translating them into modellable features. A 1D hydraulic model of a small Scottish river system was then built and the presence of these structures simulated to analyse their effects on flooded areas during a 1 in 10-year event. Several key findings emerged that suggest these structures can have a marginal net attenuative effect on a hyper-local scale, but with significant uncertainty dependent on dam size and channel morphology. There were divergent upstream and downstream effects that were not reflected in total flood extent calculations. The modelling process brought about a critical examination of the utility models in assessing the contributions of beaver reintroductions to the field of natural flood management, concluding that models are inherently limited in their ability to capture the complexity of natural systems. Insights from the theories of complex adaptive systems and deep ecology further complicate what it means to evaluate the contributions of non-human species to flood risk management, and whether their ecosystem services should be the sole justification for their reintroduction.}},
author = {{Pitcairn, Maja Christina}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Hydraulic Modelling of Eurasian Beaver Structural Modifications: Implications for Evaluating their Contributions to Natural Flood Management in Scotland}},
year = {{2023}},
}