Ecological drivers in mine site rehabilitation.

Abstract

The creation of sustainable ecosystems on land that has been used for other purposes is an increasingly important facet of global biodiversity conservation. Mine sites offer particular opportunities and challenges for ecological restoration. Opportunities such as the ability to make large scale adjustments to edaphic and topographical factors are combined with challenges such as obtaining appropriate sources for any species reintroductions and rehabilitating several trophic layers. In this paper we explore a range of potential drivers involved in successful ecological rehabilitation on mine sites and review the results from experimental studies investigating the importance of these drivers.