Restoration of alpine spoil heaps: Successional rates predict vegetation recovery in 50 years

Human disturbances in the alpine region can have long-lasting ecosystem effects because biological recovery in harsh environments proceeds slowly. As a by-product of the exploitation of hydroelectricity, surplus masses from tunnel excavations are deposited as spoil heaps in the alpine landscape. The typical management goal for such spoil heaps is that their species composition converges towards that of their undisturbed surroundings. At present...