Are we able to detect hydrological impacts of beaver dams at the catchment scale?

Est-on capable de détecter les impacts hydrologiques des barrages de castors à l'échelle du bassin versant ?

Lise Devreux (1) , Pierre Brigode (2)

1 ESPACE - Étude des Structures, des Processus d’Adaptation et des Changements de l’Espace
2 GEOAZUR 7329 - Géoazur

Modeling on changing watersheds is a particularly challenging topic for hydrologists, as land use change is not stationary and it has impacts on the rainfall-runoff relationship. It is necessary then to take into account these changes in the modeling, as well as climate change, in order to understand the hydrosystem and to improve the use of modeling tools. Several types of land use changes can influence the runoff, including beaver dams. Since the 20 th century, beavers are recolonizing territories due to protective laws in Europe and reintroduction operations in several countries. On some rivers, series of beaver dams are observed, producing potential significant hydrological impacts at the catchment scale. This work aims to develop a methodology able to detect hydrological impacts due to land use changes, using a rainfall-runoff model and to quantify these hydrological changes.

Domaines: Milieux et Changements globaux; Biodiversité et Ecologie; Hydrologie

Lise Devreux, Pierre Brigode. Are we able to detect hydrological impacts of beaver dams at the catchment scale?. 8th International Beaver Symposium, Sep 2018, Vemb, Denmark. . ⟨hal-01961546⟩