Erosion control blankets, organic amendments and site variability influenced the initial plant community at a limestone quarry in the Canadian Rocky Mountains

Abstract

Season of seeding and soil amendment with manure mix, wood shavings and erosion control blankets were evaluated over two growing seasons to determine their effect on soil properties and native grass establishment at a Canadian limestone quarry and lime processing plant. A season (fall, spring) of soil amending and seeding did not significantly affect revegetation or soil properties. Site characteristics such as slope, aspect, initial soil nutrients and surrounding plant communities influenced early plant community development and overall effects of soil treatments. Erosion control blankets resulted in the highest seeded plant cover and the lowest non-seeded plant cover despite not significantly changing soil chemical properties. Total nitrogen and carbon significantly increased establishment of seeded grasses and non-seeded species. Increased nitrogen and carbon in the constructed soils were best achieved through addition of manure. Wood shavings did not favour establishment of vegetation and resulted in similar, and in some cases less, vegetation than the controls. Assisted revegetation increased plant cover from < 6 to 50% and reduced cover of non-seeded species. Amendments that modified both chemical and physical soil conditions were best to increase vegetation establishment in the harsh conditions of the quarry

Effects of topsoil treatments on afforestation in a dry-Mediterranean climate (southern Spain)

“…One way to improve soil conditions is to apply organic amendments to the soil. Numerous studies have assessed the use of organic amendments for vegetation establishment and soil fertility, including agricultural soils (Ojeda et al, 2003;Jordán et al, 2010;Jiménez et al, 2013;Tejada and Gonzalez, 2013), eroded soils (Cohen-Fernández and Naeth, 2013;Prats et al, 2016;Donn et al, 2014;Hosseini Bai et al, 2014;Cerdà et al, 2016;, post-mining soils (Eldridge et al, 2012;Benigno et al, 2013;Muñoz-Rojas et al, 2016b), and afforested soils under Mediterranean conditions (Hueso-González et al, 2014Sadeghi et al, 2015).…”

Dry Mature Fine Tailings as Oil Sands Reclamation Substrates for Three Native Grasses

“…I ndustry produces large amounts of waste materials and is regulated to dispose of these materials to reduce environmental impact. The use of waste materials, such as waste rock (Drozdowski et al, 2012), tailings (Reid and Naeth, 2005a, 2005b), sewage (Drozdowski et al, 2012; Reid and Naeth 2005a, 2005b), biosolids (Gardner et al, 2012), manure, and wood shavings (Cohen‐Fernández and Naeth, 2013), in land reclamation is a growing worldwide practice. These materials have been used as primary substrates, in substrate mixes, and as amendments to enhance degraded soils or to modify soil chemical and physical properties.…”

Restoration of Gypsicolous Vegetation on Quarry Slopes: Guidance for Hydroseeding under Contrasting Inclination and Aspect

“…The restoration of native vegetation affected by quarrying poses challenges due to limitations caused by the alteration of both topography and soil properties (Bradshaw, ). Quarrying usually produces low‐quality spoil materials with inherent stability problems, both causing severe difficulties for the re‐establishment of former vegetation (Martín‐Duque et al, ; Espigares et al, ; Cohen‐Fernández & Naeth, ). Common practices to enhance vegetation establishment, and stabilising slopes include the spreading of topsoil, use of geotextiles, and the planting or sowing of plants (Theisen, ; Singh et al, ; Ghose, ; Matesanz et al, ; Gilardelli et al ).…”