A new report shows that beavers are advancing into Arctic tundra, leading to more methane being released into the atmosphere.
ANCHORAGE, Alaska - A study published this summer and headed by University of Alaska Fairbanks researchers points to beavers having an increasing role in greenhouse gas production in the Arctic., published in the journal Environmental Research Letters, links Arctic beavers to rising rates of methane gas increases in the region.
The identification of beavers as another source of methane is also important because of the gas’ role as a potent greenhouse gas, noted in the report as about 25 times more powerful than carbon dioxide when it comes to trapping heat within the earth’s atmosphere. “We’ve got beavers moving into the Arctic, and we’ve got all these ponds,” Tape explained. “The reason we know beavers are moving into the Arctic is, they make a footprint that you can see from space, and you know that there’s beavers there, right? So, from space, we mapped over 10,000 beaver ponds in the Alaska Arctic.
Rod Boyce, also of UAF, broke the paper down by starting with the creature’s propensity for constructing dams.
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