Examining the Australian context for post-mined land rehabilitation: Reconciling a paradigm for the development of natural and novel ecosystems among post-disturbance landscapes

This analysis attempts to reconcile existing rehabilitation planning goals and implementation constraints in the form of a paradigm that considers potential and pragmatic ecosystem transformation pathways using the Australian post-mined landscape as a contextual backdrop for investigation. A feature of the framework is that ‘novel’ ecosystems and agro-ecosystems possessing a range of commercial and societal values could bridge the conceptual divide separating the ecological function of under-rehabilitated (e.g., derelict sites) versus re-instated ‘natural’ landscapes. Landscape suitability analyses are incorporated in an operative framework to emphasise the influence of regional landscape and climate in the implementation of such management strategies. Altogether, the paradigm could facilitate the identification of widely pertinent rehabilitation goals and assessment criteria with direct implications at the regional scale of post-industrial land rehabilitation.

► A paradigm is proposed to reconcile potential land rehabilitation outcomes.
► State-and-transition projections are used to depict post-industrial land-use value.
► Landscape suitability analyses are proposed for ‘novel’ ecosystem development.
► Environmental and socioeconomic implications are identified.