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From the Ground Up: Prairies on Reclaimed Mine Land—Impacts on Soil and Vegetation

Author

Listed:
  • Rebecca M. Swab

    (MAD Scientist Associates, Westerville, OH 43081, USA)

  • Nicola Lorenz

    (School of Environment and Natural Resources, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA)

  • Nathan R. Lee

    (School of Environment and Natural Resources, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA)

  • Steven W. Culman

    (School of Environment and Natural Resources, The Ohio State University, Wooster, OH 44691, USA)

  • Richard P. Dick

    (School of Environment and Natural Resources, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA)

Abstract

After strip mining, soils typically suffer from compaction, low nutrient availability, loss of soil organic carbon, and a compromised soil microbial community. Prairie restorations can improve ecosystem services on former agricultural lands, but prairie restorations on mine lands are relatively under-studied. This study investigated the impact of prairie restoration on mine lands, focusing on the plant community and soil properties. In southeast Ohio, 305 ha within a ~2000 ha area of former mine land was converted to native prairie through herbicide and planting between 1999–2016. Soil and vegetation sampling occurred from 2016–2018. Plant community composition shifted with prairie age, with highest native cover in the oldest prairie areas. Prairie plants were more abundant in older prairies. The oldest prairies had significantly more soil fungal biomass and higher soil microbial biomass. However, many soil properties (e.g., soil nutrients, β-glucosoidase activity, and soil organic carbon), as well as plant species diversity and richness trended higher in prairies, but were not significantly different from baseline cool-season grasslands. Overall, restoration with prairie plant communities slowly shifted soil properties, but mining disturbance was still the most significant driver in controlling soil properties. Prairie restoration on reclaimed mine land was effective in establishing a native plant community, with the associated ecosystem benefits.

Suggested Citation

  • Rebecca M. Swab & Nicola Lorenz & Nathan R. Lee & Steven W. Culman & Richard P. Dick, 2020. "From the Ground Up: Prairies on Reclaimed Mine Land—Impacts on Soil and Vegetation," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(11), pages 1-19, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:9:y:2020:i:11:p:455-:d:446657
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Editorial Article, 0. "Contents," Economics of Contemporary Russia, Regional Public Organization for Assistance to the Development of Institutions of the Department of Economics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, issue 2.
    2. Editorial Article, 0. "Contents," Economics of Contemporary Russia, Regional Public Organization for Assistance to the Development of Institutions of the Department of Economics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, issue 3.
    3. Editorial Article, 0. "Contents," Economics of Contemporary Russia, Regional Public Organization for Assistance to the Development of Institutions of the Department of Economics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, issue 3.
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    Cited by:

    1. Drew A. Scott & Kathryn D. Eckhoff & Nicola Lorenz & Richard Dick & Rebecca M. Swab, 2021. "Diversity Is Not Everything," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-20, October.
    2. Xiang Fan & Yanjun Guan & Zhongke Bai & Wei Zhou & Chuxin Zhu, 2022. "Optimization of Reclamation Measures in a Mining Area by Analysis of Variations in Soil Nutrient Grades under Different Types of Land Usage—A Case Study of Pingshuo Coal Mine, China," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-19, February.

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