PIONEER PLANT COMMUNITIES ON RECLAIMED SITES OF THE ISETSKY GRANITE QUARRY
R. A. Osipenko, A. E. Osipenko, S. A. Medvedev, V. S. Kotova, S. V. Zalesov
Ural State Forest Engineering University, Yekaterinburg, Russian Federation
Keywords: reclamation, granite quarry, living ground cover, projective cover, aboveground phytomass
Abstract
Using the example of the Isetsky granite quarry (Middle Ural taiga forest region), species diversity, aboveground phytomass, and projective cover of the living ground cover (LGC) were studied during the first years after reclamation under a forestry approach. The relevance of the study is determined by the need to assess the effectiveness of reclamation and the state of ecosystems on disturbed lands. It has been established that 1-2 years after the establishment of forest plantations, the number of LGC species on the surveyed sites ranges from 16 to 29. One year after reclamation, the aboveground phytomass varied from 101.8 to 130.3 kg/ha (oven-dry weight), and after two years, from 552.9 to 1056.5 kg/ha. Species diversity and aboveground phytomass tended to increase already within the first two years after reclamation. In the aboveground phytomass of LGC, synanthropic coenotype species absolutely dominate. Despite the significant number of LGC species, in all seven experimental variants with varying heaping soil-ground thicknesses, one or two species dominated in the aboveground phytomass, accounting for more than half of the total aboveground phytomass in a completely dry state. In the first year after completion of reclamation work, this is white goosefoot ( Chenopodium album L.), and in the second year, fireweed ( Chamaenerion angustifolium (L.) Scop.), common sorrel ( Rumex acetosella L.), and white clover ( Trifolium repens L.).
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