Succession in the snail fauna of a rehabilitated limestone quarry near Maastricht, The Netherlands

The snail fauna of a limestone quarry rehabilitated in 1979 had been investigated in 1984 and was re-examined in 1996. Over this 12 year period the number of species collected increased from 10 to 18. For two of the three sites inspected succession in the snail fauna paralleled succession in the vegetation at these locations. Thanks to active ecological management, however, the vegetational aspect of one location had remained about the same. At this site the number of species collected increased from 8 to 15; for one or perhaps two out of these 15 species the number of specimens found in 1996 had markedly decreased as compared to 1984. The data for this site confirm that the snail fauna described in 1984 could be considered a pioneer fauna of dry, calcareous habitats. Provided the present ecological management is continued, eventually the snail fauna in the rehabilitated part of the quarry is expected to match that of calcareous grasslands in the vicinity of the quarry.