A comparison of terrestrial snail faunas between strip-mined land and relatively undisturbed land in Ohio, USA – an evaluation of recovery potential and changing faunal assemblages

Abstract

Terrestrial snail surveys were conducted at 1693 ha of reclaimed strip-mined land at The Wilds and at 3344 ha of woodland at the Shawnee Wilderness Area, both in Ohio, USA. These areas shared the same original physiography, vegetative cover, and soils prior to mining and are believed to have had the same land snail assemblages. The Wilds consisted of 37% woods and 63% open fields, both the result of reclamation activities. The Shawnee site was 3% fields and 97% woods. Fifty species were recorded from Shawnee and 60 from The Wilds. The older areas of woodlands and marginal new growth stands in The Wilds had recovered up to 55% of the presumed original woodland fauna based on shared assemblages with Shawnee. The fields at The Wilds were dominated by species that were rare at Shawnee. We hypothesize that these species were adapted to specialized but sparse microhabitats at Shawnee and were able to successfully colonize the disturbed areas (fields) at The Wilds when given the opportunity. As the fields at The Wilds yield to new growth woods these “field” species should return to their lower densities in the woodlands. The ranges of the original woodland species at The Wilds, now confined to the older growth woods, will expand as succession continues. If the woodlands are left to expand, then we expect the majority of the original land snail fauna will eventually return to The Wilds. However, the conversion of original woodlands at The Wilds to open fields during reclamation has complicated and slowed this recovery process. Fifty years after restoration began, The Wilds has not regained its original snail fauna.