Ecological filtering and plant traits variation across quarry geomorphological surfaces: implication for restoration

Revegetation patterns after quarry abandonment have been widely studied from several ecological points of view, but a trait-based approach is still lacking. The aim of this study was to characterise the plant species assemblages and the associated functional traits filtered on different geomorphological surfaces in abandoned limestone quarry areas: artificial cliffs, embankments, and platforms. We then verified if species with certain traits were better able to overcome the dispersal and environmental filters necessary for establishment. To this aim, we analyzed 113 vegetation plots and collected data on 25 morphological, ecological, and dispersal traits to detect species adaptaions across these man-made environments. As a case study, we investigated the extraction basin of Botticino (Lombardy, Italy), the second largest in Italy. The results obtained by SIMPER and CCA analyses showed that rockiness, stoniness, slope, elevation, and time of surfaces are the main filters that varied across quarries and affected plant assemblages at the macro-scale level. Across the three geomorphological surfaces (meso-scale) of quarries, more specific abiotic filters selecting species were found. In turn, traits differentiation according to the three main geomorphological surfaces of quarry emphasized that further filters acting at the micro-scale imply differences in dispersal mechanisms and resource availability. This work highlighted the utility to study species assemblages and environmental filters to address quarry restoration according to the type of geomorphological surface. The investigation of some traits (chorological form, life forms, seed dispersal,s and plant height) can furnish some interesting indications for practice individuating further abiotic filters acting at the micro-scale.