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Beaver Moderated Fire Resistance In The North Cascades And Potential For Climate Change Adaptation, Joseph John Weirich Iii
Beaver Moderated Fire Resistance In The North Cascades And Potential For Climate Change Adaptation, Joseph John Weirich Iii
EWU Masters Thesis Collection
Climate change and fire suppression have altered historic fire regimes, creating conditions for larger, more intense fires. Intense burns can alter watershed hydrology, increasing the potential for harmful channel incision, which impairs riparian ecosystem function by lowering the water table, disconnecting floodplains from aquatic environments. However, wetlands and functioning riparian zones can reduce burn intensity. Beaver, with their unique ability to build dams, can restore incised and degraded streams, store water, and expand wetland environments, potentially decreasing wildfire intensity, fire spread and create fire breaks across the landscape. My objective was to test the hypothesis that beaver impoundments increase landscape …