J. For. Sci., 2008, 54(12):554-565 | DOI: 10.17221/38/2008-JFS

Soil and plant communities development and ecological effectiveness of reclamation on a sand mine cast

M. Pietrzykowski
Department of Forest Ecology, Faculty of Forestry, Agricultural University of Cracow, Cracow, Poland

The aim of the study was to assess terrestrial ecosystem development (mainly vegetation and soil characteristics) in the area of a sand mine cast (located in southern Poland) that has been either reclaimed or left for natural succession. A total of 20 sites in a chronosequence of 5, 17, 20 and 25 years were set up in two site categories: reclaimed and non-reclaimed sites. Selected properties of initial soils and features of vegetation were measured and they included carbon accumulation in soil; biomass and diversity of communities were also estimated. Next, based on carbon accumulation, the energy trapped in ecosystem components was estimated. Although the results of plant community investigation did not show the same distinct differences between site categories, the case study suggests that reclamation significantly accelerates ecosystem development. In comparison with spontaneous succession, the complete forest reclamation was found to increase the amount of carbon accumulation, thickness of humus horizon, and energy trapped in soil organic carbon and plant biomass in the developing ecosystem 2-3 times and nitrogen accumulation 5 times.

Keywords: sand mining; reclamation; succession; initial soils; organic matter; plant development; biodiversity

Published: December 31, 2008  Show citation

ACS AIP APA ASA Harvard Chicago Chicago Notes IEEE ISO690 MLA NLM Turabian Vancouver
Pietrzykowski M. Soil and plant communities development and ecological effectiveness of reclamation on a sand mine cast. J. For. Sci. 2008;54(12):554-565. doi: 10.17221/38/2008-JFS.
Share...
Download citation
  • BibTeX (.bib)
  • Bookends (.ris)
  • EasyBib (.ris)
  • EndNote (.enw)
  • EndNote 8 (.xml)
  • ISI WoS (.isi)
  • Medlars (.medlars)
  • Mendeley (.ris)
  • MODS (.xml)
  • Papers (.ris)
  • RefWorks (.txt)
  • RefManager (.ris)
  • RIS (.ris)
  • MS Word (.xml)
  • Zotero (.ris)
    • Open full article

    References

    1. ADAMOWSKI W., CONTI F., 1991. Mass occurrence of orchids in poplar plantations near Czeremcha village as an example of apophytism. Phytocenosis, 3, Seminarium Geobotanicum 1: 259-267. (In Polish)
    2. ANDERSON D.W., 1977. Early stages of soil formation of glacial ill mine spoils in a semiarid climate. Geoderma, 19: 11-19. Go to original source...
    3. BEGON M., HARPER J.L., TOWSEND C.R., 1986. Ecology in individuals, populations and communities. Oxford, London, Edinburgh, Boston, Palo Alto, Melbourne, Blackwell Scientific Publications.
    4. BELL L.C., 2001. Establishment of native ecosystems after mining - Australian experiences across diverse biogeographic zones. Ecological Engineering, 17: 179-189. Go to original source...
    5. BRADSHAW A.D., HÜTTL R.F., 2001. Future mine site restoration involves a broader approach. Ecological Engineering, 17: 87-90. Go to original source...
    6. DANIELS W.L., EVANYLO G.K., NAGLE S.M., SCHMIDT J.M., 2001. Effects of biosolids loading rate and sawdust additions on row crop yield and nitrate leaching potentials in Virginia sand and gravel mine reclamation. Land Reclamation - A Different Approach. In: Proceedings 18th National Meeting of the ASSMR, 3-7 June, Albuquerque, New Mexico, ASSMR Montavesta RD. Lexington, KY, Vol. 2: 399-406. Go to original source...
    7. DE KOVEL C.G.F., VAN MIERLO A.E.M., WILMS Y.J.O., BERENDSE F., 2000. Carbon and nitrogen in soil and vegetation at sites differing in successional age. Plant Ecology, 149: 43-50. Go to original source...
    8. FALINSKA K., 1997. Plant ecology, theoretical background, population, community, processes. Warsaw, PWN. (In Polish)
    9. GOOLEY F.B., 1961. Energy values of ecological materials. Ecology, 42: 581-584. Go to original source...
    10. GOLLEY F.B., 1993. History of the Ecosystem Concept in Ecology. New Haven, Yale University Press.
    11. HELMISAARI H.H.S., MAKKONEN K., KELLOMÄKI S., VALTONEN E., MÄLKÖNEN E., 2002. Below- and aboveground biomass, production and nitrogen use in Scots pine stands in eastern Finland. Forest Ecology and Management, 165: 317-326. Go to original source...
    12. JACKSON R.B., CANADELL J., EHLERINGER J.R., MOONEY H.A., SALA O.E., SCHULZE E.D., 1996. A global analysis of root distribution for terrestrial biomes. Oecologia, 108: 389-411. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    13. JOCHIMSEN M.E.A., 1987. Reclamation of colliery mine spoil founded on natural succession. Water, Air, and Soil Pollution, 91: 99-108. Go to original source...
    14. KNOCHE D., EMBACHER A., KATZUR J., 2002. Water and element fluxes of red oak ecosystems during stand development on post-mining sites (Lusatian Lignite District). Water, Air, and Soil Pollution, 141: 219-231. Go to original source...
    15. KONONOWA M., 1968. Substancje organiczne gleby, ich budowa, w³a¶ciwo¶ci i metody badañ. Warszawa, PWRiL.
    16. KREBS C.J., 2001. The Experimental Analysis of Distribution and Abundance. 4th Ed. New York, Harper-Collins College Publishers.
    17. KRZAKLEWSKI W., 1993. Land reclamation by initial vegetation. In: Proceedings 4th International Symposium on the Reclamation, Treatment and Utilization of Coal Mining Wastes. Krakow, 6-10 September 1993. Krakow, Academy of Mining and Metallurgy - AGH Krakow Press: 779-789.
    18. KRZAKLEWSKI W., 1999. Spontane Vegetation als Indikator der Standortverhältnisse und Grundlage für Bewaldung der Kippenböschungen am Beispiel des Braunkohlentagebaus "Adamow". In: Proceedings International Conference, Tagebaugewinnung-UmweltRekultivierung mit speziellen Berücksichtigung KWB Belchatow. 8-9 June 1999. Krakow-Belchatow, SC Drukrol Press, Vol. 2: 1-122.
    19. KRZAKLEWSKI W., FRACZEK M., 1999. Metode der Rekultivierung des Waldes alter ehemaliger Sandabbauräume unter Verwendung der aus sponatanem Nachlaß stammenden Pflanzen. In: Proceedings International Conference, Tagebaugewinnung-Umwelt-Rekultivierung mit speziellen Berücksichtigung KWB Belchatow. 8-9 June 1999. KrakowBelchatow, SC Drukrol Press, Vol. 1: 111-127.
    20. KRZAKLEWSKI W., PIETRZYKOWSKI M., 2001. Evaluation of selected components of forest ecosystem reconstructed in the course of reclamation works on the internal dumping of the open pit 'D' in the former mine "Przyja¼ñ Narodów" in £êknica. Science Books of Technical University of Zielona Góra, Environment Engineering, 125: 187-197. (In Polish)
    21. LIETH H., WHITTAKER R.H., 1975. Primary Productivity of the Biosphere. Berlin, Heidelberg, New York, Springer Verlag. Go to original source...
    22. LUKEN J.O., 1990. Directing Ecological Succession. London, New York, Melbourne, Madras, Chapman and Hall.
    23. MILLER A.T., ALLEN H.L., MAIER CH.A., 2006. Quantifying the coarse-root biomass of intensively managed loblolly pine plantations. Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 36: 12-22. Go to original source...
    24. ODUM E., 1971. Fundamentals of Ecology. 3rd Ed. Philadelphia, W. B. Saunders Co.
    25. ORZEL S., SOCHA J., FORGIEL M., OCHAL W., 2005. Biomass and annual production of mixed stands of the Niepolomice Forest. Acta Scientiarum Polonorum, Silvarum Colendarum Ratio et Industria Lignaria, 4: 63-79.
    26. OSTROWSKA S., GAWLINSKI S., SZCZUBIALKA Z., 1991. Procedures for soil and plants analysis. Warsaw, Institute of Environmental Protection. (In Polish)
    27. PAJAK M., 2003. The assessment of forest reclamation effectiveness on north slope of external dump Lignite Mine KWB "Belchatow". [PhD Thesis.] Agricultural University of Cracow, Department of Forest Ecology. (In Polish)
    28. PIETCH W.H.O., 1996. Recolonization and development of vegetation on mine spoils following brown coal mining in Lusatia. Water, Air, and Soil Pollution, 91: 1-15. Go to original source...
    29. PIETRZYKOWSKI M., 2005. Characteristics of selected features of arborescent vegetation in reclaimed areas and in areas left for succession as exemplified by experimental plots in the Szczakowa sand mine excavation. Acta Agraria et Silvestria, Series Silvestria, 63: 1-26. (In Polish)
    30. PIETRZYKOWSKI M., KRZAKLEWSKI W., 2007. Soil organic matter, C and N accumulation during natural succession and reclamation in an opencast sand quarry (southern Poland). Archives of Agronomy and Soil Science, 53: 473-483. Go to original source...
    31. RAHMONOW O., ¦NIESZKO Z., 2001. Processes of running sands decay in the "B³edow Desert" during the last 30 years (Silesian Upland, South Poland). Acta Agrophysica, 50: 217-224.
    32. RUMPEL C., KÖGEL-KNABNER I., HÜTTL R.F., 1999. Organic matter composition and degree of humification on lignite-rich mine soils under a chronosequence of pine. Plant and Soil, 213: 161-168. Go to original source...
    33. SCHAAF W., 2001. What can element budgets of false-time series tell us about ecosystem development on post-lignite mining sites? Ecological Engineering, 17: 241-252. Go to original source...
    34. SOURKOVA M., FROUZ J., SANTRUCKOVA H., 2005. Accumulation of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus during soil formation on alder spoil heaps after brown-coal mining, near Sokolov (Czech Republic). Geoderma, 124: 203-214. Go to original source...
    35. SULINSKI J., 1997. The amount of biomass as a function of the height and density of a tree stand. In: Proceedings of the III National Conference on Application of Mathematics in Biology and Medicine, 16-19 September 1997. Madralin: 85-90.
    36. VALERA C., VASQUEZ C., GONZYLEZ-SENGREGORIO M., LEIRÓS M.C., GIL-SOTRES F., 1993. Chemical and physical properties of opencast lignite mine soils. Soil Science, 156: 193-204. Go to original source...
    37. VAN REEUWIJK L.P., 1995. Procedures for Soil Analysis. 5th Ed. Wageningen, Technical Paper 9, ISRIC, FAO.
    38. WALI M.K., 1999. Ecological succession and the rehabilitation of disturbed terrestrial ecosystems. Plant and Soil, 213: 195-220. Go to original source...
    39. WARDLE D.A., BARDGETT R.D., KLIRONOMOS J.N., SETÄLÄ H., VAN DER PUTTEN W.H., WALL D.H., 2004. Ecological linkages between aboveground and belowground biota. Science, 304: 1629-1633. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    40. WEGOREK T., 2003. Zmiany niektórych w³asciwo¶ci materia³u ziemnego i rozwoj fitocenoz na zwa³owisku zewnetrznym kopalni siarki w wyniku lesnej rekultywacji docelowej. Rozprawy Naukowe Akademii Rolniczej w Lublinie. Wydzia³ Rolniczy, Zeszyt 275: 1-140.
    41. WEINER A., 2004. Zycie i ewolucja biosfery. 2nd Ed. Warszawa, PWN.
    42. WEINER J., GRODZINSKI W., 1984. Energy, nutrient, and pollutant budgets of the forest ecosystems in: Forest ecosystem in industrial regions. In: GRODZINSKA W., WEINER J. MAYCOCK P. F. (eds), Ecological Studies, 49: 203-229. Go to original source...
    43. WEST T.O., WALI M.K., 2002. Modelling regional carbon dynamics and soil erosion in disturbed and rehabilitated ecosystems as affected by land use and climate. Water, Air, and Soil Pollution, 138: 141-163. Go to original source...
    44. WOLF G., 1987. Untersuchung zur verbesserung der forstlichen Rekultivierung im Rheinishen Braunkohlenrevier. Natur und Landschaft, 62: 352-364.
    45. ZIER N., SCHIENE R., KOCH H., FISCHER K., 1999. Agricultural reclamation of disturbed soils in lignite mining area using municipal and coal wastes; the humus situation at the begining of reclamation. Plant and Soil, 213: 241-250. Go to original source...

    This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY NC 4.0), which permits non-comercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original publication is properly cited. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.


    Return to the content