Spontaneous vegetation dynamics and restoration prospects for limestone quarries in Lebanon

Abstract

Abstract In terms of restoration planning, the analysis of natural regeneration processes represents a valuable starting point for the selection of suitable species to be used. This paper aims to identify colonizing key species among the pioneer vegetation of limestone quarries in Lebanon, to identify potential restoration strategies in terms of reconstitution of the pre-mining vegetation cover. Characteristics of the major ground colonizers after disturbance were identified in a representative quarry in the thermo-Mediterranean biozone. The floristic inventories resulted in a matrix of cover values of 107 species × 14 plots. Correspondence analyses were used to pinpoint similarities in the distribution of key species among the different environmental characteristics of sites. The main results reveal a heterogeneous floristic composition along the regeneration gradient, where annual R-strategy taxa such as Inula viscosa and Ainsworthia cordata dominate on very perturbed and degraded sites. Less degraded a...