Potential of restoration of gravel-sand pits for Bats

Abstract

Restoration management of quarries is one of the major tasks in global restoration ecology due to the magnitude of impacts link with extraction activities and the potential conservation value of these post-industrial sites. However, identifying a target to reach can be challenging as ecological issues can be numerous and post-exploitation state can differ from the original due to ecosystems removal or topography alterations caused by exploitation. Here, we assess the restoration potential of gravel-sand pits for Bats, a targeted group for conservation, using data from 21 gravel-sand pits monitored by the ROSELIERE scheme and we selected external data from 76 sites of the French Bat Monitoring. We analysed the relative attractiveness of 17 habitats and 5 gravel-sand pit operating statuses (before quarrying, during quarrying, rehabilitation post-quarrying younger than 5 years, rehabilitation post-quarrying between 5 and 10 years and, finally, rehabilitation post-quarrying older than 10 years). We paid close attention to comparison between gravel-sand pits states and aquatic habitats, because the restoration process in the gravel-sand pits studied often leads to bodies of water and these habitats are among the most favorable for numerous bats species. In addition, we focus our comparisons on arable land because new gravel-sand pit settlements are usually planned on such agricultural land and furthermore because it represents the major land-use pressure for bats. We found that bat activity in gravel-sand pit displays a range comparable to what is observed in numerous habitats, though it does appear both slightly lower than in bodies of water and greater than arable land. Bat activity appears increasing during the gravel-sand pit life's cycle. However, only quarries which had been rehabilitated for more than 10 years exhibited significantly greater bat activity than observed in the four other gravel-sand pit states. Our results, highlight the length of time required to detect obvious changes in the attractiveness of site being rehabilitated and the magnitude of the gap between the current state and the target (i.e. aquatic habitat). Such results should be take into account when sizing offsetting measures of quarries.

Potential of restored gravel pits to provide suitable habitats for Eurasian otters in anthropogenic landscapes

“…Similar results have been reported for different types of taxa (e.g. Šálek ; Vojar et al ; Kerbiriou et al ). In this context, restored gravel pits could be functioning as substitute habitats analogous to natural lagoons by providing nursery, refuge and foraging for semiaquatic species in those anthropogenic landscapes where natural semiaquatic habitats have been lost.…”

“…For example, Šebelíková et al () studied restored coal mines in Central Europe and found that plant species richness was higher on spontaneously revegetated sites than in sites restored following forestry reclamation methods. Moreover, the restoration of gravel pits and open mining sites have been usually reported to progressively increase local biodiversity, for example for birds (Šálek ), amphibians (Vojar et al ), and bats (Kerbiriou et al ). There are even occasions where natural spontaneous succession may facilitate gravel pit restoration (e.g.…”

Restoration scenario planning at a Spanish quarry can be informed by assessing ecosystem services

“…In recent years, there has been increasing interest in the potential of restored mineral sites to deliver ecosystem services (ES) and nature conservation (Tropek et al 2010;Larondelle & Haase 2012;Blaen et al 2016;Wilker et al 2016;Kerbiriou et al 2018). The restoration to agricultural land is still a common end-point of restoration plans, even though this may be a more expensive option (Davies 2006;Blaen et al 2015).…”

Bats and Wind Farms: The Role and Importance of the Baltic Sea Countries in the European Context of Power Transition and Biodiversity Conservation

“…31 Restoration of the site after dismantling the turbines is necessary and will benefit all fauna species, including bats, especially on sites extensively modified during the construction of the farm. 92 , 93 …”