WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH GRANT PROPOSAL
WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH GRANT PROPOSAL
Project ID: 2005NE100B
Title: Beaver in Agricultural Watersheds: Potential for Mitigating Degraded Midwestern Streams
Project Type: Research
Focus Categories: Surface Water, Geomorphological Processes, Sediments
Keywords: Degraded streams, beaver dams, sediment trapping, stream restoration
Start Date: 03/01/2005
End Date: 02/28/2006
Federal Funds: $10,000
Non-Federal Matching Funds: $38,642
Congressional District: 1
Principal Investigators:
Dean Eisenhauer
C. William Zanner
University of Nebraska
Michael G. Dosskey
Scott Hygnstrom
Abstract
Proper management of beaver in agricultural regions may be an effective and cost-efficient way to improve ecological conditions and promote sustainability of agricultural ecosystems. In eastern Nebraska, channel incision in agricultural areas is the major cause of streambank instability and cropland loss, increasing sediment pollution to streams. Beaver are recognized as ecosystem engineers for their significant role in the physical structure of ecosystems. The net value of beaver for restoring incised channels in small agricultural ecosystems remains to be assessed. Toward this goal, our objective is to quantify the capability of beaver to improve degraded channels and riparian areas in agricultural watersheds in the central U.S. This project will focus on the deeply-eroded, rolling hill watersheds of the Little Nemaha and Salt Creek River basins in southeastern Nebraska. The project will be conducted to determine the impact of beaver on stream channel and riparian hydrology and morphology in the basins. This research will illuminate the potential importance of beaver to ecological restoration and conservation of agricultural ecosystems in the central U.S.