Post-Closure Landfills as Potential Wildlife Habitats: Insights from Data Science in England with Implications for Malaysia

Despite the common practice of converting post-closure landfill sites into agricultural areas in the UK, the effectiveness of this approach in supporting species diversity remains unclear. The study provides a long monitoring of butterflies and passerine birds on selected post-closure disposal and landfill sites in England. Results show that the Shannon Diversity Index was relatively higher at many study sites. There are two butterfly species known as the Gatekeeper (Pyronia tithonus) and the Small White (Pieris rapae) and a bird species known as the Carrion crow (Corvus corone) showed significant associations with other species at the sites. Among the priority species, one butterfly species known as the Small Heath (Coenonympha pamphilus) and two bird species known as the Dunnock (Prunella modularis) and Song Thrush (Turdus philomelos) also exhibited significant correlations. These findings suggest that post-closure disposal and landfill sites in England play an important role as habitats for various species, aligning with the current biodiversity and environmental policies. Countries such as Malaysia should explore the potential of such sites to support their native and species with important priority status.