Establishment of target and invasive plant species on a reclaimed coal mining dump in relation to their occurrence in the surroundings

Abstract

The spontaneous establishment of plants on reclaimed spoil heaps and the relationship between their establishment and the occurrence of those same species in the surroundings were studied along the edge of a post-mining site. The study area extended 6.2 km around the perimeter. Study plots 100 × 100 m were situated both inside and outside the edge. Vascular plants considered as target and alien species were recorded in each plot using a semi-quantitative abundance scale. There were 90 target and 16 alien species recorded as spontaneously occurring outside and/or inside the edge. Of this number, 19 (i.e. 21%) target species were recorded outside the mine and four (5%) target species were recorded only on the heaps. Thus, 67 (74%) were common to both the surroundings and the post-mining site, suggesting that about two-thirds of the target species were able to colonise the post-mining site from the surrounding environs within 13–15 years since reclamation. Ordination analysis indicates that vegetation outside and inside the edge does not differ significantly. Colonisation clearly was supported by the fact that the reclamation was not done in a monotonous way, but rather emphasising a mosaic of woodland and grassland patches.