Ground beetle (Coleoptera, Carabidae) life history traits as indicators of habitat recovering processes in postindustrial areas

The recovery of postindustrial ecosystems is difficult to predict and depends on numerous factors. Afforestation whereby trees are planted without improvement of soil properties is a popular means of landfill reclamation in Europe, to inhibit the effect of soil erosion. This slows down or completely prevents effective recolonization of many natural ecosystem components. The aim of the study was to test a method using the life-history traits of ground beetle assemblages as a predictor of the effectiveness of ecological restoration in afforested areas. The study was conducted on 45 sampling transects located in three ecosystem types: afforested landfills, landfills where spontaneous succession took place and reference forests. The following carabid life history traits were analysed: body size, dispersal power, food preferences, breeding type, and habitat preferences. In total, 2036 specimens belonging to 36 Carabidae species were collected. Non-metric multidimensional scaling was used to classify ground beetle assemblages according to ecosystem types (analysis of dissimilarity showed significant distance differences, p < .001). We noted shifts in life history traits towards early succession in assemblages of afforested areas. Generalized linear mixed models of afforested sites revealed significantly higher abundance of herbivorous, open-area species with medium body size, high dispersal power and a spring breeding cycle. In contrast, sites where spontaneous succession occured were dominated by carabids whose life history traits were similar to those of assemblages inhabiting the reference forests, i.e. medium body-sized predators with low dispersal power and an autumn breeding cycle. We conclude that an approach based on ground beetle life-history traits can be a useful tool indicating the direction and effectiveness of ecosystem recovery in post-industrial areas and can be used as a measurable criterion for assessment of restoration activities.