title: The copper spoil heap Knappenberg, Austria, as a model for metal habitats - Vegetation, substrate and contamination.
abstract: Historic mining in the Eastern Alps has left us with a legacy of numerous spoil heaps hosting specific, metal tolerant vegetation. Such habitats are characterized by elevated concentrations of toxic elements but also by high irradiation, a poorly developed substrate or extreme pH of the soil. This study investigates the distribution of vascular plants, mosses and lichens on a copper spoil heap on the ore bearing Knappenberg formed by Prebichl Layers and Werfener Schist in Lower Austria. It serves as a model for discriminating between various ecological traits and their effects on vegetation. Five distinct clusters were distinguished: (1) The bare, metal rich Central Spoil Heap was only colonised by highly resistant specialists. (2) The Northern and (3) Southern Peripheries contained less copper; the contrasting vegetation was best explained by the different microclimate. (4) A forest over acidic bedrock hosted a vegetation overlapping with the periphery of the spoil heap. (5) A forest over calcareous bedrock was similar to the spoil heap with regard to pH and humus content but hosted a vegetation differing strongly to all other habitats. Among the multiple toxic elements at the spoil heap, only Cu seems to exert a crucial influence on the vegetation pattern. Besides metal concentrations, irradiation, humidity, humus, pH and grain size distribution are important for the establishment of a metal tolerant vegetation. The difference between the species poor Northern and the diverse Southern Periphery can be explained by the microclimate rather than by the substrate. All plant species penetrating from the forest into the periphery of the spoil heap originate from the acidic but not from the calcareous bedrock.
authors.affiliation: University of Vienna, Core Facility Cell Imaging and Ultrastructure Research, Althanstraße 14, A-1090 Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Wolfram
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Adlassnig
authors.affiliation: University of Vienna, Core Facility Cell Imaging and Ultrastructure Research, Althanstraße 14, A-1090 Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Yasmin S
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Weiss
authors.affiliation: University of Vienna, Core Facility Cell Imaging and Ultrastructure Research, Althanstraße 14, A-1090 Vienna, Austria; University of Exeter, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Biosciences, Stocker Road, Exeter EX4 4QD, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sassmann
authors.affiliation: Leibniz University Hannover, Institute of Radioecology and Radiation Protection, Herrenhäuser Straße 2, D30419 Hannover, Germany.
authors.forename: Georg
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Steinhauser
authors.affiliation: University of Vienna, Department of Microbiology and Ecosystem Science, Althanstraße 14, A-1090 Vienna, Austria; Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Coordenação de Dinâmica Ambiental, Manaus, Brazil.
authors.forename: Florian
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Hofhansl
authors.affiliation: Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Division of Biogeochemistry, Bautzner Landstraße 400, D-01328 Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: Nils
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Baumann
authors.affiliation: University of Vienna, Core Facility Cell Imaging and Ultrastructure Research, Althanstraße 14, A-1090 Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Irene K
authors.initials: IK
authors.lastname: Lichtscheidl
authors.affiliation: University of Vienna, Core Facility Cell Imaging and Ultrastructure Research, Althanstraße 14, A-1090 Vienna, Austria. Electronic address: ingeborg.lang@univie.ac.at.
authors.forename: Ingeborg
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Lang
mesh_terms: D001317:Austria; D044002:Bryophyta / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development*; D003300:Copper / Q000378:metabolism*; D017753:Ecosystem; D065928:Forests; D008011:Lichens / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development*; D008906:Mining; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry*; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000378:metabolism*; D064028:Tracheophyta / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development*
chemical_list: D012987:Soil; D012989:Soil Pollutants; D003300:Copper
keywords: Copper pollution; Metal tolerance; Metallophytes; Mine residues; Ore minerals