The impact of abandoned/disused marble quarries on avifauna in the anticline of Estremoz, Portugal: does quarrying add to landscape biodiversity?

摘要

Although the extractive operations of quarrying are often consideredenvironmental threats, there is some evidence that abandoned quarries mayhave a significant positive impact on biodiversity by enhancing habitat qualityfor several species. In Estremoz Anticlinal, SE Portugal, many of the existingmarble quarries have been inactive for decades and were abandoned withoutany restoration project in progress. The impact of quarry abandonmenton avifauna diversity was assessed relative to reference conditions usingadjacent rural fields as control areas. No significant differences were foundin within-community diversity (alpha diversity) between abandoned quarriesand reference sites. However, several dissimilarity indices showed a cleardivergence in species composition between abandoned quarries andreference sites. Furthermore, statistically significant differences in speciescompositions were found between quarries abandoned for different periods.Over time, species composition becomes more similar to that observed inreference sites, reflecting ecological succession and landscape resilienceto quarrying. Nevertheless, the studied quarrying landscape exhibitedhigher gamma and beta diversity than the former traditional landscape;thus, our results suggest that abandoned quarries, rather than damagingand destroying niches, can promote new ecological niches and significantlydiversify rural landscapes.