Reclaimed oil pads harbor higher Carabidae (Coleoptera) abundances and species richness—but fall short of reestablishing the native prairie community

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Abstract
In grassland ecosystems, oil and gas production areas require vegetation reclamations once extractions are completed. These reclamations take years to accomplish and may appear similar to the surrounding undeveloped grasslands. To test whether reclaimed oil/gas pads successfully recover ecological communities, we collected and utilized carabid beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) as bioindicators of reclamation success. We compared carabid beetle communities on well pad reclamations and within undisturbed native prairie 50 m and 150 m from the well pad reclaim edges. Overall, we found lower carabid richness and abundance in native prairie at the 150-m distance compared to the well pad reclaims, with the 50 m distance generally falling between the two. The differences in carabid communities likely reflect previously documented differences in vegetation types and structure within the reclaimed well pads that have persisted for decades after reclamation. These reclaimed habitats may be acting as “islands” for certain carabid species, representing population sources or sinks that likely influence carabid dynamics within the adjacent native prairie. These findings demonstrate a long-term signature of development disturbance in the landscape.

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