Reclaiming Open Coal Spoils by Mixed Woodland: Varteg (Wales), 10 Year Results

Many reclaimed opencast coal-lands in Wales are now seriously degraded. This study explores the 10-year growth of native trees planted on compacted coal spoil. It compares the relative benefits of planting with spent mushroom compost (SMC) or well-rotted farmyard manure (FYM), both with and without...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Minerals (Basel) 2021-06, Vol.11 (6), p.624
Main Authors: Haigh, Martin, Reed, Heather, D’Aucourt, Margaret, Bull, Chris, Cullis, Mike, Farrugia, Frances, Flege, Allison, Gentcheva-Kostadinova, Svetla, Hatton, Liz, Křeček, Josef, Plamping, Keith, Powell, Susan, Panhuis, Willemina, Sansom, Ben, Sawyer, Sharon, Wilding, Gillian, Woodruffe, Patricia, Zheleva, Elena
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal manures
Biological fertilization
Birch trees
Coal
Composting
Composts
Diameters
Discriminant analysis
Fertilization
Fertilizers
Land reclamation
Mushrooms
Phosphorus pentoxide
Pine trees
Plant species
Planting
Slow release fertilizers
Spoil
Survival
Trees
Woodlands
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Summary:Many reclaimed opencast coal-lands in Wales are now seriously degraded. This study explores the 10-year growth of native trees planted on compacted coal spoil. It compares the relative benefits of planting with spent mushroom compost (SMC) or well-rotted farmyard manure (FYM), both with and without supplementary fertilizer. Four main tree species—Common Alder, Oak, Scots Pine and Silver Birch—are considered. The survival of SMC-planted trees (77%) was significantly higher than for FYM-planted (72%). In Year 10, SMC-planted trees were significantly taller than those planted with FYM (4.75 vs. 4.57 m, respectively). Similarly, basal diameter (measured above the root collar) was larger among the SMC-planted trees. Discriminant analysis showed that the key discriminating variable between SMC-planted and FYM-planted trees was the type of fertilizer applied during planting. Adding slow-release fertilizer (SRF) and SRF plus superphosphate (SRF + P2O5) was beneficial to FYM-planted trees. Fertilizer supplements often favor the growth of FYM-planted trees in the early years, but later SMC-planted trees take the lead. The only species that benefited long term from FYM or fertilizer supplements was Alder. Overall, SMC-planted trees perform better than FYM-planted trees, but some of the difference can be mitigated by supplementary fertilization. Overall, SMC-planted trees perform better than FYM-planted trees.
ISSN:2075-163X
2075-163X
DOI:10.3390/min11060624