9/20/2023 Defining and assessing benthic recovery following dredging and dredged material disposalRead Now![]() ![]() Macrofaunal species richness (defined as the total number of different taxa) in the 0 and 0.5% C org tailings treatments, however, was statistically indistinguishable from ambient intertidal sediments after 1 year. Our experiment showed that tailings with C org contents ≥ 1% exhibited lower faunal abundance and biomass and different macrofaunal community composition after 1 year compared to background sediments. ![]() In this experimental study, we used hydrodynamically unbiased settlement trays within a complete randomized block design to test whether macrofaunal colonization of mine tailings, and resemblance toward ambient assemblages, is enhanced when tailings become more enriched in organic C (C org). A limited number of studies have attempted to quantify the speed of seafloor recovery following tailings disposal and have suggested that one of the main factors limiting seafloor colonization is the lack of organic matter of the tailings deposited. This creates a real environmental challenge since the deposition of tailings at the seafloor can completely smother the benthic environment and reduce benthic biodiversity and alter ecosystem function. ![]() The proximity of mineral resources to coastal regions in some countries has meant that the organically inert mine tailings are often deposited into the marine environment as a submarine tailings placement or STP. 4The Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, Lowestoft Laboratory, Lowestoft, United Kingdomįine-grain, waste rock (or tailings) produced during mining processes are the main waste product following the extraction of valuable minerals and metals from ores.2Marine Biology Division, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway.1Deep-Sea Ecology and Biogeochemistry Research Group, The Lyell Centre for Earth and Marine Science, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, United Kingdom. ![]()
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