Abstract
Opencast mining often causes permanent damage to soils and vegetation. Here we investigate how resource input and plant colonization promote revegetation and reconstruction of mined soils in central Brazil. We show that: (1) after several decades without vegetation cover, resource input into regoliths prompts the establishment of a diverse plant community; (2) the synergistic effect of resource input and plant colonization increases soil carbon to levels higher than that observed in undisturbed ecosystems; (3) invasive grasses progressively exclude native species, by limiting nutrient availability, but contribute most of the accumulated carbon. The study discusses theoretical and practical implications of these findings, describing how resource manipulation and management of invasive species can be used to optimize restoration strategies, counteracting soil degradation while maintaining species diversity.
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