Fauna Associated with Brushwood Transposition in a Mining Area in the South of Brazil

Abstract

This study evaluates the potential of fauna attractiveness according to brushwood transposition in an abandoned mining area under restoration in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Sixteen areas of brushwood measuring 2 m² area and 1 m high were installed. The occurrence of fauna groups under and around the brushwood piles was then observed with use of bi-monthly surveys. Data were collected using a non-destructive method and the animals were identified by order and separated by taxonomic units. Twenty-three fauna orders were found, with the most frequent being Anura, Araneae, Hymenoptera and Isoptera. There was an increase in the number of taxonomic units found in each survey, with a significant difference after ten months of installation. The results indicate that the brushwood was attractive to the fauna and provided new habitats and coexistence between different fauna groups during the monitored period.

Termites in restoration: the forgotten insect?

“…Optimistically, evidence suggests that following restoration, the functional role of termites within degraded ecosystems can recover to pre‐disturbance levels without impeding vegetation recovery (Davies et al 1999; Spain et al 2015; de Paula et al 2016; Jouquet et al 2017; Kaiser et al 2017; Amadou Issoufou et al 2020). The restoration methods include transplanting vegetation (Davies et al 1999; Toso et al 2020), adding mulch (Kaiser et al 2017), as well as direct transposition of termites in the field (Jouquet et al 2014). Termite recovery to pre‐disturbance levels can take from 3 years (Pais & Varanda 2010; Spain et al 2015) up to 30 years (Coulibaly et al 2016).…”