Reclaimed oil pads harbor higher abundances and species richness of Carabidae - but fall short of reestablishing the native prairie community

Authors: West, Natalie; Campbell, Joshua; Rand, Tatyana; WAITE, EVAN - Arizona State University; PALMROSE-KREIGER, CHRISTINA - Arizona State University; SYLVAIN, ZACHARY - Marian University; Branson, David

Submitted to: Environmental Entomology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/24/2025
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: In grasslands, oil and gas production areas require reclamation and revegetation once oil and gas extractions are completed. These reclamations take years to accomplish. Though they may eventually appear similar to undeveloped grasslands, reclamations may not in fact successfully recover plant and animal communities common to surrounding intact grasslands. Carabid beetles are often used as bio-indicators of reclamation success, so we collected and compared carabid beetle communities on well pad reclamations with those in undisturbed native prairie at two distances from the edge of the well pad reclamation. We found that well pads had elevated richness and abundance of carabid beetles compared to surrounding native prairie, likely in response to vegetation and soil differences between reclaimed and prairie areas that have persisted for decades. Further, there was some indication that the surrounding native prairie was affected by conditions on the reclaim, as prairie plots near to the reclaimed well edge showed some similarities with on-pad responses, while prairie plots farthest from the reclaimed well consistently differed from reclaimed well pads in carabid richness, abundance, and species composition. These patterns demonstrate a long-term and persistent impact of energy development in the landscape, and illustrate the time and effort required to successfully reclaim grassland ecosystems after disturbance.

Technical Abstract: In grassland ecosystems, oil and gas production areas require vegetation reclamations once oil/gas extractions are completed. These reclamations take years to accomplish and may appear similar to the surrounding undeveloped grasslands. To test whether reclaimed oil/gas pads successfully recover ecological communities, we collected and utilized carabid beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) as bioindicators of reclamation success. We compared carabid beetle communities on well pad reclamations and within undisturbed native prairie 50-m and 150-m from the well pad reclaim edges. Overall, we found lower carabid richness and abundances in native prairie at the 150-m distance compared to the well pad reclaims, with the 50m distance generally falling between the two. The differences in carabid communities likely reflect previously documented differences in vegetation types and structure within the reclaimed well pads that have persisted for decades after reclamation. These reclaimed habitats may be acting as ‘islands’ for certain carabid species, representing population sources or sinks that likely influence carabid dynamics within adjacent native prairie. These findings demonstrate a long-term signature of development disturbance in the landscape.