Forest restoration often includes monitoring programs to determine whether biodiversity levels and ecosystem services have changed over time. This study investigated changes in communities (families) of ground-hunting spiders. Meliaceae, Lycosidae and Zodariidae) A 20-year post-mining restoration program targeted actively restored forests, unrestored gravel mines, and two alternative land use types (agroforestry systems and arable fields) to improve biodiversity. Evaluate success in restoring to baseline level. natural forest. Overall activity density of ground-hunting spiders (based on both juvenile and adult specimens) was highest in dry-season natural and restored forests and lowest in wet-season cultivated land and agroforestry systems. The inverse Simpson index was highest in gravel pits during the rainy season, followed by natural forests in both seasons, and values ​​were lower in restored forests. Spider community composition varied significantly by land use type (open vs. forest habitat), and the interaction between land use and season also varied significantly. seed Pardosa injukunda and trochosa Gentilis dominated restored forest communities, but africanoctenus monitor dominate natural forests, Hogna Gratiosa Communities located on gravel sites were predominant. Remarkably, active forest restoration increased the activity density of ground hunting spiders displaced by mining activities to levels even higher than in the reference natural forest 20 years later. However, the community composition of the restored forest resembled an agroforestry system more than a natural forest. Although these results highlight the benefits of restoring former mining sites, they also demonstrate trade-offs in terms of restoration goals, as natural spider forest biodiversity has not been achieved even after 20 years. Masu.
Kinga H, Damptey FG, Harms D, Jocqué R, Henrard A, Birkhofer K (2025) Active restoration of post-mining forests increases activity density but reduces seasonal spider community diversity in Ghana. has no effect. African Invertebrates 66(1): 1-18. https://doi.org/10.3897/afrinvertebr.66.138662
