Habitat mosaic of gravel pit as a potential refuge for carabids: a case study from Central Europe

Abstract

In gravel pits, a mosaic of habitats with various environmental conditions created during mining has a great potential for persistence of many species. We focused on such a mosaic in a gravel pit surrounded by agricultural landscape. We investigated which habitats within sludge deposits in different successional stages (from bare sands to secondary forest) and agriculturally reclaimed area enhanced diversity, species richness and abundance of carabids and supported occurrence of threatened species. Since some of these habitats were extensively managed while others were invaded by the alien plant Solidago gigantea, we also tested the effect of management and the cover of S. gigantea on carabid assemblages. We found a gradient in carabid assemblages from psammophilous ones in bare sandy soils towards similar assemblages in plots with well-developed vegetation cover. Here, carabid assemblages were represented predominantly by common species of agricultural and forest lands without higher habitat requirements. Contrarily, plots with bare sand could serve as a refuge for rare psammophilous carabid species, which cannot occur in surrounding landscape due to vanished suitable habitats. Therefore, keeping some of habitats in early plant successional states is important for maintaining habitat mosaic and for persistence of such species as well. Management of grasslands and cover of S. gigantea had no effect on carabid assemblage. We presume that carabids were likely more affected by vegetation structure and density than species composition.