Structural development of vegetation on rehabilitated North Stradbroke Island: Above/belowground feedback may facilitate alternative ecological outcomes
Introduction This study depicts broad-scale revegetation patterns following sand mining on North Stradbroke Island, south-eastern Queensland, Australia. Methods Based on an ecological timeline spanning 4–20 years post-rehabilitation, the structure of these ecosystems ( n = 146) was assessed by disti...
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| Published in: | Ecological processes Vol. 2; no. 1; pp. 1 - 17 |
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Berlin/Heidelberg
Springer Berlin Heidelberg
08-07-2013
Springer Nature B.V |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | Get full text |
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| Summary: | Introduction
This study depicts broad-scale revegetation patterns following sand mining on North Stradbroke Island, south-eastern Queensland, Australia.
Methods
Based on an ecological timeline spanning 4–20 years post-rehabilitation, the structure of these ecosystems (
n
= 146) was assessed by distinguishing between periods of ‘older’ (pre-1995) and ‘younger’ (post-1995) rehabilitation practices.
Results
The general rehabilitation outlook appeared promising, whereby an adequate forest composition and suitable levels of native biodiversity (consisting of mixed-eucalypt communities) were achieved across the majority of rehabilitated sites over a relatively short time. Still, older sites (
n
= 36) appeared to deviate relative to natural analogues as indicated by their lack of under-storey heath and simplified canopy composition now characterised by mono-dominant black sheoak (
Allocasuarina littoralis
) reaching up to 60% of the total tree density. These changes coincided with lower soil fertility parameters (e.g
.
, total carbon, total nitrogen, and nutrient holding capacity) leading us to believe that altered growth conditions associated with the initial mining disturbance could have facilitated an opportunistic colonisation by this species. Once established, it is suspected that the black sheoak’s above/belowground ecological behaviour (i.e
.
, relating to its leaf-litter allelopathy and potential for soil-nitrogen fixation) further exacerbated its mono-dominant distribution by inhibiting the development of other native species.
Conclusions
Although rehabilitation techniques on-site have undergone refinements to improve site management, our findings support that putative changes in edaphic conditions in combination with the competitive characteristics of some plant species can facilitate conditions leading to alternative ecological outcomes among rehabilitated ecosystems. Based on these outcomes, future studies would benefit from in depth spatio-temporal analyses to verify these mechanisms at finer investigative scales. |
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| Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
| ISSN: | 2192-1709 2192-1709 |
| DOI: | 10.1186/2192-1709-2-20 |