Effects of ecological restoration on beetle assemblages: results from a large-scale experiment in a Mediterranean steppe rangeland
Résumé
Given that biological conservation cannot prevent the full range of negative impacts on biodiversity, ecological restoration is nowadays commonly acknowledged as a necessary tool for conservation purposes. Here, we report on an ecological rehabilitation project in the La Crau area (south-eastern France), beginning in 2009 when a former industrial orchard (357 ha) was rehabilitated into a Mediterranean rangeland. We assessed the effect of ecological rehabilitation and different additional restoration treatments on beetle assemblages. Seven treatments were considered: the reference steppe, the rehabilitated treatment alone, three additional experimental restoration treatments (soil transfer; nurse species seeding and hay transfer), the control and the edge between the steppe and the former industrial orchard area. All beetle families were considered. Beetles were sampled with Communicated by David Hawksworth. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https ://doi.