Mining Legacy Constrains Campo Rupestre Regeneration After 50 and 300 Years

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Abstract
Mining has left lasting scars on campo rupestre , one of the world's most diverse and threatened ecosystems. Here, we provide the first empirical evidence, on a secular scale, of the limits of passive recovery in these environments. We compared two abandoned mining post‐mining sites in Mariana, Brazil [one abandoned 50 years ago (Short‐term) and another more than 300 years ago (Long‐term)] with four well‐preserved reference sites to assess vegetation structure, floristic composition, and soil attributes. We estimated the structure and composition of woody vegetation, along with soil nutritional and textural properties, in replicated plots. We assessed multivariate differences in woody species composition among sites using Bray–Curtis‐based PCoA and PERMANOVA, and summarized soil multivariate patterns with PCA. Both sites exhibited reduced species richness, abundance, and structural heterogeneity, along with differences in soil nutritional and textural properties that were associated with plant community assembly patterns. Despite centuries of abandonment, the Long‐term site did not converge to reference conditions, while the Short‐term site showed only partial similarities (PCoA cumulative variation = 37.40%; PERMANOVA p < 0.001). Taken together, these findings suggest that passive recovery in campo rupestre is insufficient, even on centennial scales, compromising the return of biodiversity and ecosystem services essential to millions of people. They also underscore the urgent need for active science‐based restoration policies that are guided by the ecological attributes of reference ecosystems, going beyond mitigation rhetoric to ensure ecological functionality and resilience in post‐mining landscapes.
Funding Information
  • Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais
  • Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (406757/2022‐4)
  • Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (442499/2023‐0)
  • Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (157792/2025‐0)
  • Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior
  • Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (2025/15898‐0)

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