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Man-made freshwater habitats are an important part of the European landscape, especially in areas with mostly absent or degraded natural habitats. To assess the role of different man-made standing waters in anthropogenic landscapes, we surveyed adult odonate communities in a cluster of 20 water bodies including fishponds and sandpit ponds in early and ongoing successional stages. We found 35 odonate species (i.e., 47% of the fauna of the Czech Republic), but their presence differed significantly among the three habitat types. The highest species diversity, driven mainly by the presence of generalists, was found in fishponds. Sandpit ponds in an early successional stage hosted the least diverse communities dominated by pioneer and vagrant species. Specialist species occurred in both types of sandpit ponds, especially those in an ongoing successional stage, more than in fishponds. Although the dragonfly biotic index did not differ among the three types of localities, all four species from the national Red list recorded during the study occurred only in sandpit ponds. The main environmental drivers of local odonate communities included the coverage of shoreline by emergent vegetation, water depth and bottom substrate; the latter two characteristics largely corresponded to the distinction between sandpit ponds and fishponds. We conclude that both sandpit ponds and fishponds play an important role in maintaining freshwater biodiversity that requires a mosaic of habitats in different successional stages.

European Commision suggested the remedying biodiversity damage should be achieved through restoration of the environment as a whole to its baseline condition. Here we provide the evidence on non-market goods gained when spontaneous succession is allowed at sites subject to previous sand or gravel-sand quarrying, arguing for estimation of the value of natural resources formed during the quarrying process and for their reflection in the restoration plans. We analyzed the assemblages of beetles and orthopteroids formed at xerothermophilous microhabitats subject to spontaneous succession for 2–5, 6–15 and >15 years, or formed at reclaimed sites within sandpits and gravel-sandpits in the Czech Republic, Central Europe. We collected a total of 7259 individuals from 401 species of beetles, and 2785 individuals from 43 species of orthopteroids. We found 62 red-listed species, among them eight CR species, including abundant Psammodius asper and Zorochros meridionalis; Labidura riparia (EN) was eudominant orthopteroid of early successional stages. Xerothermes subject to spontaneous succession hosted 95% of red-listed species found, whereas reclaimed sites hosted mostly the generalists and only 24% of red-listed species found. We identified 13 species specialized for drift sand (all beetles); most were present at xerothermes subject to intermediate or long-term succession. We identified 53 beetle and five orthopteroid species specialized for gravel-sand river terraces and xerothermophilous steppes. Striking 97% of red-listed beetles and 80% of red-listed orthopteroids found in the sandpits were absent in other comparable postindustrial habitats with fine-grained substrates. Sandpit xerothermes thus serve as important secondary strongholds for psammophilous beetles and orthopteroids.

Although the value of the habitat lost by quarrying is widely known, awareness of the conservation value of the newly formed habitat is negligible. We provide evidence on the conservation value of both active and disused sandpits and gravel–sandpits for epigeic spiders and harvestmen, commonly considered important indicator species. We focus on xerothermophilous habitats within sandpits subjected to near-natural succession or other reclamation efforts. We show that xerothermophilous sandpit microhabitats are used by 323.8 ± 23.9 epigeic spider species and 8.5 ± 1.1 harvestmen species, with the species spectrum changing dramatically during spontaneous succession and if the habitat is subject to other forms of reclamation, with low species dominance across all habitats tested. We found 81 spider species recognized as critically endangered, endangered, vulnerable or nearly threatened. Of these, 72 (89%) were present at spontaneously formed xerothermophilous habitats of various ages, and 40 (49%) at the reclaimed sites. We analyzed the species-specific habitat preferences of the red-listed spider species in relation to both abiotic (altitude, slope, soil penetration resistance, soil shear strength resistance, soil texture) and biotic (vegetation cover, plant diversity, diversity of red-listed plants) factors. The xerothermophilous sandpit habitats served as important refuges for Central European steppe and aeolian sand dune species, which had nearly disappeared from the surrounding intensively cultivated cultural landscape.