Understanding the impacts of reclamation history on plant-insect interactions

Human land-use alters the ecological properties of an ecosystem, including species interactions, and these changes can persist long after a disturbance takes place. Surface mining is an intensive land-use practice that drastically alters landscapes, and today, reclamation following mining is federally regulated to facilitate ecosystem recovery. Prior to this regulation, reclamation extent was highly variable, and land was often abandoned following mining. The objective of this study was to determine if the reclamation history of surface mined land affects present day biotic communities. Over the course of three years, we studied species interactions involving Lotus corniculatus (commonly, bird’s-foot trefoil), a legume included in reclamation seed mixes, growing in both abandoned and reclaimed recovering mine land in Southeastern Ohio. We found that L. corniculatus’s interactions with both beneficial and antagonistic partners were different between pre- and post-regulation formerly mined sites. Our results suggest that the reclamation history of recovering surface mine land affects present-day plant-insect interactions. Identifying and mitigating these legacy effects is critical for maximizing the conservation potential of formerly mined land.