title: Are seed and dispersal characteristics of plants capable of predicting colonization of post-mining sites?
abstract: Seed characteristics play an important role in the colonization and subsequent persistence of species during succession in disturbed sites and thus may contribute to being able to predict restoration success. In the present study, we investigated how various seed characteristics participated in 11 spontaneous successional series running in different mining sites (spoil heaps, extracted sand and sand-gravel pits, extracted peatlands, and stone quarries) in the Czech Republic, Central Europe. Using 1864 samples from 1- to 100-years-old successional stages, we tested whether species optimum along the succession gradient could be predicted using 10 basic species traits connected with diaspores and dispersal. Seed longevity, diaspore mass, endozoochory, and autochory appeared to be the best predictors. The results indicate that seed characteristics can predict to a certain degree spontaneous vegetation succession, i.e., passive restoration, in the mining sites. A screening of species available in the given landscape (regional and local species pools) may help to identify those species which would potentially colonize the disturbed sites. Extensive databases of species traits, nowadays available for the Central European flora, enable such screening.
authors.affiliation: Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Benátská 2, 128 01, Praha 2, Czech Republic. eskela@post.cz.
authors.forename: Martina
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1906-9529
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Horáčková
authors.affiliation: Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, USB, Branišovská 31, 37005, České Budějovice, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Klára
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Řehounková
authors.affiliation: Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, USB, Branišovská 31, 37005, České Budějovice, Czech Republic.|Institute of Botany, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Dukelská 135, 37981, Třeboň, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Karel
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Prach
mesh_terms: D018153:Czech Republic; D017753:Ecosystem; D052918:Environmental Restoration and Remediation; D008906:Mining; D063148:Plant Dispersal; D012639:Seeds / Q000254:growth & development*; D013997:Time Factors
keywords: Dispersal types; Life history traits; Meta-analysis; Mining sites; Passive restoration; Primary succession; Spontaneous succession