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Effects of substrate coarseness and exposure on plant succession in uranium-mining wastes

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Abstract

Speciesturnover and speed of primary revegetation on uranium-mining spoils aredescribed from the Centre-West part of Spain. Four 21-yr-old successional seresdiffering in substrate-grain size (broken/unbroken waste) andslope orientation (North/South) are compared. Qualitative andquantitative changes in species composition and the time required for recoveryof a terminal stage are analysed, using an undisturbed pasture as reference.Revegetation succession is faster on the broken waste and on the North slope.Moreover, there is a combined effect of both abiotic factors on the pattern andduration of revegetation succession. 195 plant taxa are recorded showing one offour patterns of change: (1) 'pioneer';(2) 'intermediate'; (3) 'latecoloniser'; (4) 'fluctuating'. Multivariateanalysisallows us to identify species following each of these patterns on eachsubstrate.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. E.T.S.II.AA. de Palencia, Universidad de Valladolid, Area de Ecología, E-34004, Palencia, Spain

    C. Martínez-Ruiz

  2. Facultad de Biología, Universidad de Salamanca, Area de Ecología, E-37007, Salamanca, Spain

    B. Fernández-Santos & J.M. Gómez-Gutiérrez

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  1. C. Martínez-Ruiz
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  2. B. Fernández-Santos
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Martínez-Ruiz, C., Fernández-Santos, B. & Gómez-Gutiérrez, J. Effects of substrate coarseness and exposure on plant succession in uranium-mining wastes. Plant Ecology 155, 79–89 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1013208305393

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