Overstorey-understorey interactions reveal trade-offs for achieving competing land-use goals in jarrah forest restored after bauxite mining: Initial prescription and targets affect restoration success over 32 years

The International Principles and Standards for the Ecological Restoration and Recovery of Mine Sites were used to assess the restoration quality of one of the world's largest mines, located in the world's most biodiverse temperate forest. Quantitative analysis of longitudinal data spanning 35 years scored restoration quality at 2‐stars against a 5‐star forest ecosystem restoration target, with little indication of improvements from adaptive management. Two‐thirds of indicator plants were significantly under‐represented in early‐stage restoration and declined with age. Most plant species were effectively absent, including key structural species. Invasive plants and native legumes were persistently overabundant. Time required for the maturation of tree species will prevent the production of fundamental ecosystem features for well over a century (e.g. hollows and fallen logs), inhibiting functional fauna return (reptiles, bats, and conservation priority cockatoos in particular). The significantly different outcome compared with previous assessments is due to the age of restoration assessed and previous assumptions that early‐stage success indicate that restoration is on the correct, prolonged trajectory toward full ecological restoration. However, previous assessment methods did not consider many key metrics of the standards, nor accurately predict future restoration trajectory. In particluar, initial plant species richness (the only measure of biodiversity in the company's restoration completion criteria) did not reflect future restoration quality. These substandard restoration outcomes may result from removing the deep, multi‐layered bauxitic substrate on which the ecosystem evolved and establishing restoration on shallow topsoil over a more homogenized, impervious substrate. This study demonstrates the value of a robust, adaptable multi‐factor framework and methodology to evaluate restoration outcomes.

show abstract

scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.

Contact Info

customersupport@researchsolutions.com

10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614

Henderson, NV 89052, USA

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Blog Terms and Conditions API Terms Privacy Policy Contact Cookie Preferences Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information

Made with 💙 for researchers

Part of the Research Solutions Family.

Overstorey-understorey interactions reveal trade-offs for achieving competing land-use goals in jarrah forest restored after bauxite mining: Initial prescription and targets affect restoration success over 32 years

Cited by 2 publications

References 40 publications

Minimum thresholds of key ecological attributes facilitate the tracking of mineland restoration

Minimum thresholds of key ecological attributes facilitate the tracking of mineland restoration

Standards‐based evaluation inform ecological restoration outcomes for a major mining activity in a global biodiversity hotspot

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About