Post on 25-Sep-2020
António Mira
Carmo Silva; Sofia Eufrázio; Vânia Salgueiro; Pedro A. Salgueiro; Amália
Oliveira; Otília Miralto; Denis Medinas; Alexandra Silva & António Mira
Quarries meet biodiversity: fauna
insights from a long-term project of
quarry rehabilitation
Arrábida’s Natural Park (green)
Study area: SECIL - Outão
SECIL’s property: green (L) – limestone areabrown (M) – marl area .
LB
L90
M90
M00
MB
MN
M80
L80
L00
LN
- Plant facilities
- Natural and burned (2004) areas
- 2 active quarries (limestone + marl)
- Rehabilitated area
MAIN GOALS
• Understand and minimize theimpacts of quarry activities onfauna and associated processes ofecosystem functioning
• Promote the recovery of ecosystemstructure and functioning to helpnatural colonization from quarrysurroundings.
Understanding and valuing
biodiversity (fauna)
1. Characterize biodiversity and main drivers influencing it
2. Design and implement an Action Plan to recover biodiversity
3. Monitor biodiversity, comparing with surrounding natural areas
4. Better understand key ecosystem functions to help implement rehabilitation actions and potentiate ecosystem services
Main steps
Baseline referential
(2007)
70 Insects
35 Butterflies
35 Ground beetles
3 Amphibians
7 Reptiles
52 Birds
4 Birds of prey
2 Owls
46 Passerines
16 Mammals
4 Bats
5 Small mammals
1 Lagomorphs
0 Ungulates
6 Carnivores
Total: 148 species
Drivers of Biodiversity
Potentiating
- High prey abundance
- High density of herbaceous in
some areas
- Large natural wood and shrub
patches surrounding the quarry
Limiting
- Habitat fragmentation and
low connectivity
- Few shelters
- High disturbance
- Low water availability
- Feral dogs and cats
Action Plan
A1. Environmental Awareness
A2. Surveillance
A3. Feral animals control
A4. Vegetation management
A5. Shelters
A6. Water availability
340
320
300
280
260
240
220
200
190
Propriedade SECIL-Outão
Página 1 de 10
N
Plan o d e Acção p ara a B iodiversidad e
Com po nen te da Faun a
200 8
Vegetation
Surveillence
Shelter
Water
340
320
300
280
260
240
220
200
190
Propriedade SECIL-Outão
Página 1 de 10
N
Plan o d e Acção p ara a B iodiversidad e
Com po nen te da Faun a
200 8
Management actions
proposed location
Water - Artificial ponds
Water availability is an import action as it
attracted fauna into recovered areas
0102030405060708090
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Aves Mamíferos A.assilvestrados Temperatura (ºC) Humidade (%)
Specie
s R
ichness
Birds Mammals Feral species Temperature (ºC) Humidity (%)
January
Fe
bru
ary
Marc
h
April
May
June
July
August
Septe
mber
Octo
ber
Novem
ber
Decem
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Season
Winter
Fall
Spring
Summer
R2= 0.399
p < 0.001
Sp
ecie
s R
ich
ne
ss
Humidity (%)
Sp
ecie
s R
ich
ne
ss
Temperature (º C)
Season
Winter
Fall
Spring
Summer
R2= 0.595
p < 0.001
Shelters - Rock piles
Increase of wood mouse in
natural marl (p<0.001)
Abundance (Capture index)
Before After
Shelter – Bird nest-boxes
Eurasian blue tit
Before After
Great tit
132 nest-boxesEurasian blue tit, European crested tit and great
tit; Black redstart; short-toed treecreeper; and robin
Before After
Increase the abundance of Eurasian blue tit
(p=0.002) and great tit (p<0,001) during the winter
in areas with nest boxes
SECIL-Outão’ propertyRehabilitated area and quarryFactory buildings Roads
Buffer 50mBuffer550mRehabilitated areas
Location of the feed stations
Carnivores dispersed seeds in the
rehabilitated areas, in the natural areas
and between both
Case 2 - Seed dispersal
(Herrera, 2016)
To frame Fauna diversity at SECIL-Outão in its surroundings
To evaluate the effect of the distance to the quarry
To define the environmental characteristics that best explain the abundance and richness of wildlife groups in order to propose management measures
Objectives
Arrábida Natural Park
Municipalities
Arrábida Natural Park
Luiz Saldanha Marine Park
SECIL-OutãoSampling sites in 2013Sampling sites in 2016
GroupNumber of species in
the Natural ParkNumber of species at
SECIL-OutãoGround beetles 34 27Butterflies 44 24Passerines 49 40Other birds 16 12Birds of prey 8 4Owls 6 2Bats 7 7Rabbits 1 1Ungulates 1 1Carnivores 6 5TOTAL 172 123
Park vs. Quarry
5 587 ha 425 ha
Mea
nre
lati
veim
po
rtan
ceo
fva
riab
les
to
allg
rou
ps
of
fau
na
anal
yse
d
Habitat 1 Habitat 2 Orography Quarry
Main drivers of species occurrence
Habitat characteristics are the most important features explaining species occurrence. The relevance of distance to Quarry is weak in most cases.
37 guilds analyzed
Effects of distance to the Quarry
(preliminary incomplete results)
Lower abundance of butterfliesnear the quarry.
Higher activity of carnivores andbirds do prey suggests thequarry may be an importantfeeding area.
However, nesting of carnivoresand birds of prey in the quarryis rare
R² = 0,2047
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000
Ativid
ade d
e C
arn
ívoro
s d
e
Mato
s A
ltos
(24h)
Distância à Pedreira da SECIL-Outão (metros)
A
R2 = 0,205
Wild carnivoresactivity
Take home messages
• A 11-year study on the response of fauna
to an ongoing rehabilitation of a quarry
allows for the evaluation of trends
• Quarries have local impact on fauna despite
this, if properly managed, they may hold a
high biodiversity and can sustain important
ecosystem functioning and services
• Distance to quarries is a minor driver of
fauna diversity and activity in surrounding
areas, the most important being habitat
related characteristics;
• Opportunities made available by the
quarries (abundance of prey, rocky habitats)
should be valued in recovery programs.
• Rehabilitation should focus on species but
also ecosystem functioning and natural
services, to allow the fully re-establishment
of ecological processes.
Sofia Eufrázio
Carmo Silva
AntónioMira
Pedro Salgueiro
Vânia Salgueiro
VanesaRivera
OtiliaMiralto
AmáliaOliveira
Actual UE team
Ana Galantinho
Denis Medinas
Filipe Carvalho
Rafael Carvalho
Giovanni ManghiLena Marques Nelson Varela Nuno Faria Vanessa Alves André Raposo Carla Cruz Ilaria Campana A. M.CarvalhoEdgar Gomes Pedro Barbosa Pedro Pereira Tiago Marques
Alexandra Silva José Oliveira Cátia SáNuno Marques Joana Cardoso Rita Ferro Nelson Cristina
Rute Caraça Filipa Costa Eulália Freitas Fernando Camolas
Teresa Mexia Joana Gusmão Alice Nunes Graça Oliveira Otília Correia