Land reclamation program: revegetation studies

The ongoing experiment summarized here have been designed to characterize the germination, survival, growth, vigor and early success of various grass species growing on layered material consisting of strip mine spoil or mine refuse (gob) covered by topsoil as compared to topsoil, spoil or gob alone. Of particular interest in these studies is the response of the roots, both in biomass production and gross morphology, upon encountering and penetrating the interface between the topsoil and spoil/gob material. This response is of prime importance in predicting the long-term success, vigor and quality of the stand, especially under conditions of drought or toxicity in the spoil material. Data collected to date indicate that, in many cases, past revegetation recommendations based on results of experiments on amended spoil alone cannot be exytrapolated to the topsoil over spoil condition and will have to be revised.