Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/57791
Title: Temporal dynamics in biotic and functional recovery following mining
Contributor(s): Eldridge, David J  (author)orcid ; Oliver, Ian  (author); Powell, Jeff R (author); Dorrough, Josh  (author); Carrillo, Yolima (author); Nielsen, Uffe N (author); Macdonald, Catriona A (author); Wilson, Brian  (author)orcid ; Fyfe, Christine  (author); Amarasinghe, Apsara (author); Kuginis, Laura (author); Peake, Travis (author); Robinson, Trish (author); Howe, Belinda (author); Delgado-Baquerizo, Manuel (author)
Publication Date: 2022-06
Open Access: Yes
DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.14172
Handle Link: https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/57791
Abstract: 

1. Human-induced disturbance has substantially influenced the structure and function of terrestrial ecosystems globally. However, the extent to which mul-tiple ecosystem functions (multifunctionality) recover following anthropogenic disturbance (ecosystem recovery) remains poorly understood.

2. We report on the first study examining the temporal dynamics in recovery of multifunctionality from 3 to 12 years after the commencement of rehabilitation following mining-induced disturbance, and relate this information to changes in biota. We examined changes in 57 biotic (plants, microbial) and functional (soil) attributes associated with biodiversity and ecosystem services at four open-cut coal mines in eastern Australia.

3. Increasing time since commencement of rehabilitation was associated with increases in overall multifunctionality, soil microbial abundance, plant produc-tivity, plant structure and soil stability, but not nutrient cycling, soil carbon se-questration nor soil nutrients. However, the temporal responses of individual ecosystem properties varied widely, from strongly positive (e.g. litter cover, fine and coarse frass, seed biomass, microbial and fungal biomass) to strongly negative (groundstorey foliage cover). We also show that sites with more de-veloped biota tended to have greater ecosystem multifunctionality. Moreover, recovery of plant litter was closely associated with recovery of most microbial components, soil integrity and soil respiration. Overall, however, rehabilitated sites still differed from reference ecosystems a decade after commencement of rehabilitation.

4. Synthesis and applications. The dominant role of plant and soil biota and litter cover in relation to functions associated with soil respiration, microbial function, soil integrity and C and N pools suggests that recovering biodiversity is a criti-cally important priority in rehabilitation programs. Nonetheless, the slow recovery of most functions after a decade indicates that rehabilitation after open-cut mining is likely to protracted.

Publication Type: Journal Article
Source of Publication: Journal of Applied Ecology, 59(6), p. 1632-1643
Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd
Place of Publication: United Kingdom
ISSN: 1365-2664
0021-8901
Fields of Research (FoR) 2020: 4101 Climate change impacts and adaptation
Peer Reviewed: Yes
HERDC Category Description: C1 Refereed Article in a Scholarly Journal
Appears in Collections:Journal Article
School of Environmental and Rural Science

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