Soil and vegetation inter-relationships on reclaimed coal mine sites

Abstract. A spoil and vegetation survey was conducted of five fields reclaimed from coal mine spoils seeded in different years at the Whitewood mines of south-central Alberta, Canada. It aimed to understand the causes of visibly wide variations in ground cover of the seeded species which was mainly alfalfa. Sites were initially stratified into productivity classes: A (high), B (medium), and C (low) based on the seeded species, and then sampled. Cover and dry weight declined linearly with age of reclaimed field. The spoil at class-A sites contained more clay than that of class-C sites. It also contained more moisture and a better cover. Electrical conductivity (EC) and the concentrations of soluble B, Mg, Na, and K in the spoil were significantly greater at class-C sites. Cover and dry weight of the seeded species were negatively correlated with EC, B, Mg, and Na in the spoil, thus implicating these factors in poor vegetative productivity, particularly in the dry conditions that typify this part of Alberta.