Evapotranspiration (store and release) soil covers have been proposed as a means to limit acid mine drainage. Soil water balance models, like UNSATH are commonly used to assess the effectiveness of store and release covers. Plant-related attributes are required as inputs to these models. In particular, UNSAT-H requires leaf area index (LAI) and root length density (RLD) inputs. Published LAI an...

Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 76:915–924 doi:10.2136/sssaj 2011.0288 Received 15 Aug. 2011 *Corresponding author ([email protected]) © Soil Science Society of America, 5585 Guilford Rd., Madison WI 53711 USA All rights reserved. No part of this periodical may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any informat...

A main objective of restoration and afforestation at post-mining sites is establishing a long-term sustainable ecosystem which depends on adaptations of tree species and which in turn depends on the soil nutrient flux. The nutrient concentration (nitrogen (N), P, K, Ca, Mg, and sulfur (S)) of Scots pine needles was investigated in reclaimed mine soils (RMS) located at the following post-mining ...

A strategy to measure bacterial functional redundancy was developed and tested with soils collected along a soil reclamation gradient by determining the richness and diversity of bacterial groups capable of in situ growth on selected carbon substrates. Soil cores were collected from four sites along a transect from the Jamari tin mine site in the Jamari National Forest, Rondonia, RO, Brazil: de...

Reclaimed surface coal mines in the eastern United States are commonly revegetated with grasses and legumes. The productivity and carbon sequestration potential of the vegetation varies with the condition and nature of the mined site and soil. This study was conducted to determine the distribution pattern of soil carbon stock on 9 mined grasslands reclaimed after the passage of SMCRA in 1977. M...

We examined suitability of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) associated with cool-season nonnative forages on reclaimed surface-mined land in southeast Ohio for establishment of native warm-season grasses. The goal of establishing these grasses is to diversify a post-reclamation landscape that is incapable of supporting native forest species. A 16-week glasshouse study compared AMF from a 30-y...

Ecological restoration of mining areas has mainly focused on the succession dynamics of vegetation and the fate of microbial communities remains poorly understood. We examined changes in soil characteristics and plant and microbial communities with increasing reclamation period in an open coal mine. Bacterial, archaeal and fungal communities were assessed by tag-encoded 454 pyrosequencing. At t...

Landowners in the Appalachian region are becoming increasingly interested in restoring the native hardwood forest on mined land after reclamation. Trees are usually planted in topsoil substitutes consisting of blasted rock strata from the geologic profile. Reforestation attempts using native hardwoods have often been unsuccessful due to the highly variable nature of the physical, chemical, and ...

Soil environmental quality is the capacity of a soil to function, within ecosystem and land use boundaries, to sustain biological productivity, maintain environmental quality, and promote plant, animal and human health'. In the long-term, vegetative rehabilitation of mining wastes aims at, as far as possible, the proper ecological integration of the reclaimed area into the surrounding landscape...