Cement Sustainability Initiative
CSI Quarry Rehabilitation Guidelines – Case Study
Quarry Rehabilitation: a SECIL experience
Valorization of biodiversity
Location and Situation
Secil’s “Vale de Mós A” marl quarry and “Vale de Mós B” limestone quarry are located in
Arrábida Natural Park, Southwest Portugal. Both quarries, surrounding natural areas and
the plant cover 440 hectares in total.
Resource exploitation started from top to bottom,
leaving a group of terraces available for
revegetation. Quarry recovery started in 1982 and
aimed to recreate the natural habitats
surrounding the quarry, which are dominated by
Mediterranean vegetation, using native species
and promoting natural conditions for fauna
occupation. During 27 years of revegetation,
habitats with different plant communities, age and
cover have been established.
Revegetated quarry terraces
1st Stage - Baseline Referential
In 2007, SECIL and University of Évora started a partnership to carry out a complete
study in order to:
1. Characterize the fauna community;
2. Characterize and evaluate the occupation level of fauna in the recovered habitats and
compare with natural habitats;
3. Define measures to encourage colonization by fauna based on the obtained results.
The 1st stage of the study began with the survey of vertebrate and invertebrate terrestrial
fauna in ten landscape units defined on the basis of soil type, succession state and
restoration age. The criteria for selecting the fauna communities were the ability to act as
bio-indicators of habitat quality, relevance in the early stages of ecological succession
(e.g., seed dispersers), and threatened species.
Over 16 months a team of biologists investigated five groups of fauna in the different
habitats: insects (butterflies and ground beetles); amphibians (urodelians and anurans);
reptiles (saurians and snakes); birds (passeriformes, nocturnal and diurnal birds of prey);
and mammals (small mammals, bats, lagomorphs and carnivores).
This case study is part of the CSI Quarry Rehabilitation Guidelines published in 2011.
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The main results achieved in this study were: (i) number of species; (ii) definition of the
priority species for conservation; (iii) comparison between number and priority of species
in the different habitats; (iv) definition of the value for conservation for each habitat; (v)
identification of the limiting factors that influence the abundance and diversity of species;
(vi) definitions of measures to encourage the colonization of fauna.
After the 1st stage of the study a complete diagnosis of
the selected fauna community was achieved across the
whole SECIL-Outão property. About 150 species were
found to be present: one lagomorph; five small
mammals; six to eight bats; five carnivores; 50 birds,
seven reptiles, three amphibians, 33 butterflies and 40
ground beetles. Within these groups several important
species were found, such as: arboreal bats (Nyctalus
spp.); diurnal birds of prey (Circaetus gallicus); some
passerines (Sylvia undata, Turdus torquatus, Monticola
solitarius) and rare species of butterflies (Euchloe tagis)
and ground beetles in Arrábida Natural Park.
The abundance and specific richness differed between recovered and natural areas. Marl
and limestone natural areas showed higher values of specific richness and often of
relative species abundance compared to recovered areas.
The main limiting factors for fauna occupancy identified were: (i) insufficiency of natural
shelters; (ii) low water availability; (iii) habitat fragmentation and low connectivity between
patches; (iv) shortage of herbaceous stratum and (v) disturbance by feral animals (cats
and dogs).
2nd Stage - Action Plan: Implementation and Monitoring
The baseline data was used to define an Action Plan for fauna recovery and colonisation,
associated with the landscape revegetation, which included six groups of actions:
environmental awareness, prevention, feral animal control, vegetation management,
shelter and water availability improvement. Our strategy relies on an active and adaptive
management through fauna and actions effectiveness monitoring schemes.
Between 2008 and 2010, twenty-nine actions were applied in field, and their effectiveness
monitored, such as:
1. Realization of workshops, conferences and courses to different target groups;
2. Construction and placement of 90 bat-boxes for bats and 132 nest-boxes for birds to
increase shelter availability:
3. Construction of stone and wood piles mimicking
natural shelters to increase shelter availability;
4. Construction of a pond in the quarry to promote
water availability for fauna.
First results revealed that shelter and water
availability improvement along with environmental
Occupation ofpublished
the nest-boxes
caeruleus)
This case study is part of the CSI Quarry Rehabilitation Guidelines
in(Parus
2011.
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awareness were, in the short-term, the most effective actions for the achievement of
project goals.
Fauna monitoring following the same methodologies was applied in 2010 aiming to
compare current fauna diversity and abundance status with 2007’s baseline referential.
Periodic fauna monitoring will allow the evaluation of community trends in a long term
assessment.
3rd Stage - Action Plan and Scientific Studies
In 2011 SECIL and University of Évora started the 3rd stage of the study which will extend
until 2014.This stage settles on the continuation of the Action Plan implementation aiming
to:
1. Reinforce the most effective actions and adjust the actions that were less successful;
2. Implement new and innovative actions;
3. Continue and expand monitoring actions.
To better understand the impact of quarry
exploitation and recovery on fauna processes
and ecology two case studies will be
performed in the following years. First case
study intends to obtain an outside reference
in a Natural Park for measuring indoor
success. The second case study will use a
small mammal species (Apodemus
sylvaticus) to evaluate the constraints of
exposed slopes in limestone recovered areas
on animal movement.
Release of Bubo-bubo in the quarry
Partners
Biology Department, University of Évora
Lessons learned
Multidisciplinary team: the involvement of all stakeholders and specialized technicians
(biologists and engineers) is a crucial step to promote sustainable management.
Experimental stage: small scale experiences are sometimes needed in order to evaluate
the cost-effectiveness of implementing an action in large scale.
Dialogue and planning: to implement some rehabilitation measures, it is important to know
the availability of the different parts of the quarry, e.g., which is currently under
exploitation and which could be in the future. Dialogue between the different technicians
that work in the quarry is crucial for this, and leads to actions that are implemented at the
right time and better results.
This case study is part of the CSI Quarry Rehabilitation Guidelines published in 2011.
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Stakeholders: involvement of stakeholders in the implementation of measures enhances
their environmental awareness and the effectiveness of the project.
Further information
Alexandra Silva, [email protected] and Julio Abelho, [email protected], Secil
Corporative Technical Centre
This case study is part of the CSI Quarry Rehabilitation Guidelines published in 2011.
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