KFU. Card publication. Features of the Distribution of Beaver Dams and Ponds along Small Rivers: The Volga-Kama Region, European Russia

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FEATURES OF THE DISTRIBUTION OF BEAVER DAMS AND PONDS ALONG SMALL RIVERS: THE VOLGA-KAMA REGION, EUROPEAN RUSSIA

Form of presentation

Articles in international journals and collections

Year of publication

2024

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Authors, employees of KFU

Gusarov Artem Viktorovich, author

Sharifullin Aydar Gamisovich, author

Bibliographic description in the original language

Gusarov, A.V.; Sharifullin, A.G.; Beylich, A.A.; Lisetskii, F.N. Features of the Distribution of Beaver Dams and Ponds along Small Rivers: The Volga-Kama Region, European Russia. Hydrology 2024, 11, 53. https://doi.org/10.3390/hydrology11040053

Annotation

In this paper, by using GNSS technologies, some features of the distribution and some morphometric parameters of dams and ponds created by the Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber L.) along ten rivers of the Volga-Kama region of European Russia were identified. Detected features depend on the geomorphological, lithological, and landscape features of these rivers and their basins. The significant role of river slopes, as well as landscape zoning, in the distribution of beaver dams and ponds along small rivers in the study region is shown. In the rivers under study, almost all beaver constructions are located on riverbed slopes of less than 3% (most often, less than 2%). In the south of the forest zone (the southern taiga of the Vyatka River basin), the majority of dams and ponds (about 90%) are located on slopes of less than 1%, while, within the uplands of the forest-steppe zone, this location varies depending on the length of the rivers. In general, the greater the average slope of the river (the greater the average elevation of the river basin), the lower, other things being equal, the degree of beaver transformation of such rivers. This feature is better expressed in the rivers of the forest landscape zone and less expressed in the rivers flowing in the forest-steppe zone. Analysis of the morphometric parameters of beaver dams shows statistically significant trends towards an increase in their average height, as the channel slopes increase. Statistically significant trends were also identified towards a decrease in the length of dams and the length of associated ponds, with an increase in channel slopes. It is noteworthy that the critical values of the slope for a statistically significant and relatively sharp change in these parameters are 1.45%, 1.07 (or 0.54)%, and 0.65 (or 0.47)%, respectively. The greatest average heights of beaver dams are confined to those rivers where their basins are composed of loamy rocks/soils (especially those that are poorly plowed), compared with “sandy” river basins. This may be due to the peculiarities of the ratio of surface and underground water runoff in these basins and, as a consequence, different intensities of snowmelt- and rainfall-induced flood flow. We assume that the above-mentioned features reflect the early stages of beaver expansion (population growth) in the studied rivers.

Keywords

Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber L.); beaver colony; beaver dam height; beaver dam length; beaver pond length; riverbed slope; river length; river basin; GNSS; East European Plain

The name of the journal

Hydrology

URL

https://www.mdpi.com/2306-5338/11/4/53

Please use this ID to quote from or refer to the card

https://repository.kpfu.ru/eng/?p_id=298227&p_lang=2

Full metadata record

Field DC	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Gusarov Artem Viktorovich	ru_RU
dc.contributor.author	Sharifullin Aydar Gamisovich	ru_RU
dc.date.accessioned	2024-01-01T00:00:00Z	ru_RU
dc.date.available	2024-01-01T00:00:00Z	ru_RU
dc.date.issued	2024	ru_RU
dc.identifier.citation	Gusarov, A.V.; Sharifullin, A.G.; Beylich, A.A.; Lisetskii, F.N. Features of the Distribution of Beaver Dams and Ponds along Small Rivers: The Volga-Kama Region, European Russia. Hydrology 2024, 11, 53. https://doi.org/10.3390/hydrology11040053	ru_RU
dc.identifier.uri	https://repository.kpfu.ru/eng/?p_id=298227&p_lang=2	ru_RU
dc.description.abstract	Hydrology	ru_RU
dc.description.abstract	In this paper, by using GNSS technologies, some features of the distribution and some morphometric parameters of dams and ponds created by the Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber L.) along ten rivers of the Volga-Kama region of European Russia were identified. Detected features depend on the geomorphological, lithological, and landscape features of these rivers and their basins. The significant role of river slopes, as well as landscape zoning, in the distribution of beaver dams and ponds along small rivers in the study region is shown. In the rivers under study, almost all beaver constructions are located on riverbed slopes of less than 3% (most often, less than 2%). In the south of the forest zone (the southern taiga of the Vyatka River basin), the majority of dams and ponds (about 90%) are located on slopes of less than 1%, while, within the uplands of the forest-steppe zone, this location varies depending on the length of the rivers. In general, the greater the average slope of the river (the greater the average elevation of the river basin), the lower, other things being equal, the degree of beaver transformation of such rivers. This feature is better expressed in the rivers of the forest landscape zone and less expressed in the rivers flowing in the forest-steppe zone. Analysis of the morphometric parameters of beaver dams shows statistically significant trends towards an increase in their average height, as the channel slopes increase. Statistically significant trends were also identified towards a decrease in the length of dams and the length of associated ponds, with an increase in channel slopes. It is noteworthy that the critical values of the slope for a statistically significant and relatively sharp change in these parameters are 1.45%, 1.07 (or 0.54)%, and 0.65 (or 0.47)%, respectively. The greatest average heights of beaver dams are confined to those rivers where their basins are composed of loamy rocks/soils (especially those that are poorly plowed), compared with “sandy” river basins. This may be due to the peculiarities of the ratio of surface and underground water runoff in these basins and, as a consequence, different intensities of snowmelt- and rainfall-induced flood flow. We assume that the above-mentioned features reflect the early stages of beaver expansion (population growth) in the studied rivers.	ru_RU
dc.language.iso	ru	ru_RU
dc.subject		ru_RU
dc.title	Features of the Distribution of Beaver Dams and Ponds along Small Rivers: The Volga-Kama Region, European Russia	ru_RU
dc.type	Articles in international journals and collections	ru_RU