Responses of small mammals to land
restoration after mining

Lawer, Eric Adjei; Mupepele, Anne‐Christine; Klein, Alexandra‐Maria

doi:10.1007/s10980-019-00785-z

Cited by 13 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 83 publications

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“…Unlike other studies, we found no significant relationship between disturbance intensity and species abundance or richness, most likely because disturbance intensity was rather similar across sites, differing only in the number of pits and logged trees (Carreño-Rocabado et al 2012;Burivalova et al 2014). Older sites may show faster signs of passive recovery in terms of both flora and fauna than newly disturbed sites of the same size (Meli et al 2017;Lawer et al 2019). The disturbance history of our sites is unknown and cannot be reconstructed due to the activities being illegal, but we assume that our replicated sampling design could randomly capture a variety of different disturbance histories and therefore seems unlikely to bias our results.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 89%

Artisanal mining impacts small mammals while chainsaw milling is a more sustainable practice in Ghana

2020

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Logging and mining are widespread in most West African countries and considering their socio-economic importance, little is known about their ecological impacts. In this study, we investigated the effects of chainsaw milling (logging) and artisanal mining on terrestrial small mammal communities in a tropical forest in Ghana. For this, we compared abundance, diversity measures and community composition of small mammals active at the forest floor in logged, mined and undisturbed forest sites. We found that abundance was higher in logged and undisturbed forest sites than in mined sites. Small mammal species richness, Shannon diversity and Pielou’s evenness did not differ significantly among the three forest disturbance categories. Community composition of small mammals varied between mined and undisturbed sites as well as between mined and logged sites, suggesting differential species responses to altered environments. This may be due to the presence of pits in mined forest sites, hence a reduction in exploitable ground habitat structures for shelter, nesting or food. Overall, our results suggest that artisanal mining has strong impacts on community composition of forest floor small mammals in tropical forests while the effect of logging by chainsaw milling activities is minimal, especially when practiced at low intensity. This effect was moderated by elevation and distance to streams that equally shaped small mammal communities. More research on the effects of specific forms of logging and mining activities on small mammals are urgently needed to better protect species in forests impacted by logging and mining.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 89%

Artisanal mining impacts small mammals while chainsaw milling is a more sustainable practice in Ghana

2020

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“…Small mammals and rodents are the most common groups of this taxonomic group in Iberia, and they usually prefer temperate, moist and rainy habitats since their basic diet components (insects and herbaceous plants) proliferate throughout the year in these areas (Vickery and Rivest, 1992;Milstead et al, 2007;Hsu et al, 2012); therefore, PAs with very warm and arid climates could be harboring species with similar traits or lineages which are adapted to survive under these climatic conditions. Conversely, PAs with larger areas covered with inland wetlands and mine, dump and construction sites showed a tendency toward an underrepresentation of phylogenetic diversity, which is not unexpected because these habitats are extremely hostile for most terrestrial mammals where only a reduced number of species can survive (Ardente et al, 2016;Lawer et al, 2019). We found higher functional diversity of mammals than expected from the regional pool in PAs with larger areas covered by arable lands, which could be due to the presence of generalist species that are known to thrive in agricultural landscapes (Dotta and Verdade, 2011;Magioli et al, 2016).…”

Section: Predictormentioning

confidence: 99%

Iberian Protected Areas Capture Regional Functional, Phylogenetic and Taxonomic Diversity of Most Tetrapod Groups

et al. 2021

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Protected areas (PAs) have been created with the purpose of preserving biodiversity, acting as refuges from anthropogenic pressures. Traditionally, PAs have been designed and managed to represent mainly taxonomic diversity, ignoring other diversity facets such as its functional and phylogenetic components. Yet, functional and phylogenetic diversity are, respectively, connected with species’ roles on ecosystems and evolutionary history held within communities. Here, we focused on the amphibian, reptile, resident breeding bird, and non-flying mammal faunas of the national and natural parks of the Iberian Peninsula, to evaluate whether these PAs are adequately representing regional functional, phylogenetic, and taxonomic diversity of each group. Specifically, we computed functional and phylogenetic diversity within each PA, and then compared those values to the ones obtained from a random assembly of species from the regional pool, that was defined as the region encompassing the PA and a neighboring area of 50 km beyond its boundary. We also calculated the proportion of species in each regional pool that were present within the PAs. In general, the functional and phylogenetic diversity of amphibians, reptiles and non-flying mammals found within PAs did not differ significantly from random expectations generated from the species pertaining to the regional pool, although a few PAs showed a higher diversity. In contrast, resident breeding birds presented lower functional and phylogenetic diversity than expected by chance in many of the PAs, which could relate to climatic variables and the habitat specificity of some species. The proportion of species from the regional pools that are present in the PAs was high for amphibians, reptiles and mammals, and slightly lower for birds. These results suggest that the Iberian natural and national parks are effectively capturing the functional, phylogenetic and taxonomic diversity of most tetrapod assemblages present at the regional level. Future studies should identify priority areas to expand the representation of these biodiversity components, and assess potential effects of climate and land-use changes on current patterns.

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“…Chamblin (2002) compared mammal species richness among four treatments (intact forest-premining; grassland-7-21 years post reclamation; shrub/pole-18-28 years; fragmented forest-streamside buffer surrounded by reclaimed lands) and reported no differences in species richness among treatments and no correlation between time since reclamation and species richness on mountaintop-removal mines in southern West Virginia. Use of reclaimed mine sites by fossorial (ground-dwelling) and semifossorial mammals depends on depth of soil and degree of substrate compaction (Lawer et al 2019). Species requiring exposed rock outcrops such as the Allegheny woodrat (Neotoma magister) may decline or be absent from post-SMCRA minelands unless an artificial structure can serve as an alternative to native habitat (Chamblin et al 2004).…”

Section: Small and Meso-mammalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Terrestrial Wildlife in the Post-mined Appalachian Landscape: Status and Opportunities

Lituma

Cox

Spear³

et al. 2020

Appalachia's Coal-Mined Landscapes

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Coal mining is an anthropogenic stressor that has impacted terrestrial and semi-aquatic wildlife in the Appalachian Plateau since European settlement. Creation of grassland and early-successional habitats resulting from mining in a forested landscape has resulted in novel, non-analog habitat conditions. Depending on the taxa, the extent of mining on the landscape, and reclamation practices, effects have ranged across a gradient of negative to positive. Forest-obligate species such as woodland salamanders and forest-interior birds or those that depend on aquatic systems in their life cycle have been most impacted. Others, such as grassland and early-successional bird species have responded favorably. Some bat species, as an unintended consequence, use legacy deep mines as winter hibernacula in a region with limited karst geology. Recolonization of impacted wildlife often depends on life strategies and species' vagility, but also on altered or arrested successional processes on the post-surface mine landscape. Many wildlife species will benefit from Forest Reclamation Approach practices going forward. In the future, managers will be faced with decisions about reforestation versus maintaining open habitats depending on the conservation need of species. Lastly, the post-mined landscape currently is the focal point for a regional effort to restore elk (Cervus canadensis) in the Appalachians.

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Responses of small mammals to land restoration after mining

Cited by 13 publications

References 83 publications

Artisanal mining impacts small mammals while chainsaw milling is a more sustainable practice in Ghana

Artisanal mining impacts small mammals while chainsaw milling is a more sustainable practice in Ghana

Iberian Protected Areas Capture Regional Functional, Phylogenetic and Taxonomic Diversity of Most Tetrapod Groups

Terrestrial Wildlife in the Post-mined Appalachian Landscape: Status and Opportunities

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