Indicator plant-soil mercury patterns in a mercury-rich mining area of British Columbia

1985 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. M. Siegel ◽  
B. Z. Siegel ◽  
C. Lipp ◽  
A. Kruckeberg ◽  
G. H. N. Towers ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Mining Area ◽  
Indicator Plant ◽  
Plant Soil ◽  
Soil Mercury

The effects of replaced topsoil of different depths on the vegetation and soil properties of reclaimed coal mine spoils in an alpine mining area

2019 ◽  
Vol 65 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 92-105
Author(s):  
Xinguang Yang ◽  
Xilai Li ◽  
Mingming Shi ◽  
Liqun Jin ◽  
Huafang Sun
Keyword(s):  
Plant Growth ◽  
Soil Properties ◽  
Coal Mine ◽  
Growth Parameters ◽  
Soil Depth ◽  
Mining Area ◽  
Vegetation Coverage ◽  
Mine Spoils ◽  
Plant Soil ◽  
Different Depths

Replacement of topsoil to an appropriate depth is one of the key methods for ecological restoration. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of topsoil replacement depth on vegetation and soil properties, and to identify the optimum soil depth for reclamation of coal mine spoils in a cold alpine mining area. We sowed 3 herbaceous species after coal mine spoil heaps were treated with topsoil to 3 depths (0, 20‒25, 40‒45 cm). The variations in vegetation community structure, plant growth, soil properties were measured at different replaced topsoil depths. The correlations between plant and soil properties were analyzed statistically. The results showed species richness, diversity and evenness were not significantly different among different depths of topsoil (P > 0.05). Vegetation coverage, density, height and aboveground biomass increased significantly (P < 0.05) with increasing topsoil depth. Soil properties did not change significantly with increasing topsoil depth (P > 0.05), but soil organic matter was significantly higher at 40‒45 cm topsoil depth than at other two depths (P < 0.05). All soil properties, with the exception of total potassium, were positively correlated with the plant growth parameters. The 40‒45 cm topsoil depth of replacement should be considered as effective method in reclaiming coal mine spoils. The use of both topsoil replacement to a depth of 40‒45 cm and sowing of suitable herbaceous seeds is found to be an effective restoration strategy. Additionally, fertilization might be used as a substitute for artificial topsoil replacement to improve soil quality and speed up revegetation process by the positive plant-soil interactions.

Distribution of surface soil mercury of Wuda old mining area, Inner Mongolia, China

2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (5) ◽  
pp. 1421-1439 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chunhui Li ◽  
Handong Liang ◽  
Yang Chen ◽  
Jiangwei Bai ◽  
Yukun Cui
Keyword(s):  
Inner Mongolia ◽  
Surface Soil ◽  
Mining Area ◽  
Soil Mercury

scholarly journals The Shoreline Fringe Forest and Adjacent Peatlands of the Southern Central British Columbia Coast

2003 ◽  
Vol 117 (2) ◽  
pp. 209 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric G. Lamb ◽  
William Megill
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Picea Sitchensis ◽  
Forest Vegetation ◽  
Plant Analysis ◽  
Coastal Forest ◽  
Vegetation Types ◽  
Indicator Plant ◽  
Chamaecyparis Nootkatensis ◽  
Southern Central

Four distinct vegetation types are found in close proximity along an exposed section of the southern central coast of British Columbia. A coastal fringe of coniferous forest a few hundred metres wide is separated by a steep ecotone from an inland peatland-forest complex. The objectives of this study were (1) to describe the plant communities along the transition from forest to peatland, and (2) to identify some of the major environmental factors associated with those communities using indicator plant analysis. The coastal forest is dominated by Thuja plicata, Tsuga heterophylla, Picea sitchensis, and Chamaecyparis nootkatensis. Characteristic understory species include Gaultheria shallon and Blechnum spicant. Inland from the coastal forest are transitional forest stands with a species-rich understory including Cornus canadensis, Hylocomium splendens, and Vaccinium parvifolium. The peatlands are poor fens characterized by thickets of Pinus contorta and Chamaecyparis nootkatensis among open areas dominated by species such as Sphagnum sp., Empetrum nigrum, Juniperus communis, and bogs characterized by Myrica gale, Eriophorum angustifolium, and Sanguisorba officinalis. Indicator plant analysis identified differences in the ground surface materials, soil moisture and nutrient regime between the vegetation types. The general trend is for an increase in soil moisture from the forest vegetation to the peatlands and a concurrent change from the Mor humus forms that dominate the coastal forest floor to the surface groundwater table of the peatlands. These environmental differences between forest and peatland are likely related to the steeper slopes typically found in the fringe forest vegetation.

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