In situ amelioration of sodic minespoil with chemical amendments and crop management: II. Soil physical properties, soil moisture and plant growth

Abstract

The effects of sulfur and gypsum amendments in conjunction with crop management (fallow/barley and forage) on soil physical properties, soil moisture and vegetation characteristics were measured on a sodic and calcareous sandy loam minespoil at the Highvale coal mine, west of Edmonton, Alberta.Amendment and crop management had no significant effect on bulk density, plant species composition, canopy cover, ground cover or annual aboveground biomass. Crop management significantly affected penetration resistance (which was generally higher under forage), while amendment treatments did not. Profile soil moisture was lowest within the gypsum-amended plots at all depths, and was similar for sulfur-amended and control plots. Crop management affected profile soil moisture, with significantly less moisture under continuous forage than fallow/barley. As percolation is critical to the effectiveness of amendments in the amelioration process, cereal/fallow rotations are more effective than continuous forage in facilitating that process. Key words: Reclamation, bulk density, penetration resistance