Articles | Volume 21, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-1039-2017
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-1039-2017
Research article
 | 
20 Feb 2017
Research article |  | 20 Feb 2017

Rapid surface-water volume estimations in beaver ponds

Daniel J. Karran, Cherie J. Westbrook, Joseph M. Wheaton, Carol A. Johnston, and Angela Bedard-Haughn

Related authors

Modelling braided river morphodynamics using a particle travel length framework
Alan Kasprak, James Brasington, Konrad Hafen, Richard D. Williams, and Joseph M. Wheaton
Earth Surf. Dynam., 7, 247–274, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-7-247-2019,https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-7-247-2019, 2019
Short summary
Impacts of beaver dams on hydrologic and temperature regimes in a mountain stream
M. Majerova, B. T. Neilson, N. M. Schmadel, J. M. Wheaton, and C. J. Snow
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 19, 3541–3556, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-19-3541-2015,https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-19-3541-2015, 2015
Short summary

Related subject area

Subject: Ecohydrology | Techniques and Approaches: Mathematical applications
Ecohydrological optimality in the Northeast China Transect
Zhentao Cong, Qinshu Li, Kangle Mo, Lexin Zhang, and Hong Shen
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 2449–2462, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-2449-2017,https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-2449-2017, 2017
Short summary
Hydrologic controls on aperiodic spatial organization of the ridge–slough patterned landscape
Stephen T. Casey, Matthew J. Cohen, Subodh Acharya, David A. Kaplan, and James W. Jawitz
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 20, 4457–4467, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-20-4457-2016,https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-20-4457-2016, 2016
Short summary
Technical Note: Higher-order statistical moments and a procedure that detects potentially anomalous years as two alternative methods describing alterations in continuous environmental data
I. Arismendi, S. L. Johnson, and J. B. Dunham
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 19, 1169–1180, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-19-1169-2015,https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-19-1169-2015, 2015
Short summary
The effects of cumulative forest disturbance on streamflow in a large watershed in the central interior of British Columbia, Canada
M. Zhang and X. Wei
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 16, 2021–2034, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-16-2021-2012,https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-16-2021-2012, 2012

Cited articles

Baker, B. W. and Hill, E. P.: Beaver (Castor canadensis), in: Wild Mammals of North America: Biology, Management, and Conservation, edited by: Feldhamer, G., Thompson, B., and Chapman, J., The John Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Maryland, 288–310, 2003.
Brooks, R. T. and Hayashi, M.: Depth-area-volume and hydroperiod relationships of ephemeral (vernal) forest pools in southern New England, Wetlands, 22, 247–255, https://doi.org/10.1672/0277-5212(2002)022[0247:DAVAHR]2.0.CO;2, 2002.
Butler, D. R. and Malanson, G. P.: The geomorphic influences of beaver dams and failures of beaver dams, Geomorphology, 71, 48–60, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2004.08.016, 2005.
ESRI: ArcGIS Desktop, available at: http://www.esri.com (last access: 20 June 2016), 2015.
Fang, X., Pomeroy, J. W., Westbrook, C. J., Guo, X., Minke, A. G., and Brown, T.: Prediction of snowmelt derived streamflow in a wetland dominated prairie basin, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 991–1006, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-14-991-2010, 2010.
Download
Short summary
Beaver ponds are found in many landscapes and their transient nature makes it difficult to account for the surface water they store using traditional methods. We found that reliable estimates of surface water storage in beaver ponds can be made with simple measurements of pond depth and surface area. This makes it possible for hydrologists and environmental managers to include beaver ponds in models and land use planning decisions without the need for resource intensive topographic surveys.