Rates of Pedogenesis in Reclaimed Lands as Compared to Rates of Natural Pedogenesis

Abstract

Reclamation is performed on disturbed lands to return the land to productivity as rapidly as possible. From the perspective of the pedologist, the ultimate in reclamation would be to return the soil resource to its previous condition as rapidly as possible, but do reclamation methods increase rates of pedogenesis? To investigate this question, studies that report rates of soil formation in both reclaimed and natural sites were gathered from the literature, and depth of soil formation was plotted against years of pedogenesis. The slopes and y-intercept elevations of logarithmic regression trend lines were statistically compared to determine if rates of pedogenesis were the same in reclaimed and naturally forming soils. Results of the analysis indicate that rates of pedogenesis in reclaimed soils are not higher than in natural soils; however, soil amendments used during the reclamation process likely create parent material conditions that are ideal to support vegetative growth and start reclamation pedogenesis at an advanced stage.