Evaluation of reclaimed abandoned bentonite mine lands
In 1985, the Abandoned Mined Land Division of the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality began reclamation of 4,148 ha of abandoned bentonite mined lands. Calcium amendments and sawmill wood wastes were applied to the regraded spoils to enhance water infiltration, displacement of Na on the clay spoil, and leaching of the displaced Na and other soluble salts. Revegetation of these lands was generally successful, but after several years small areas (0.1--0.2 ha) began to show signs of vegetation die-back and to prescribe corrective treatment options. A randomized block design was imposed on study areas near Upton, Colony, and Greybull, Wyoming to characterize spoil chemical properties of good, moderate, and dead vegetation zones, which were subjectively delineated by visual vegetation cover and density differences. Spoil analyses indicated exchangeable-sodium (Na) concentrations were high and the dead vegetation zones exhibited exchangeable-sodium-percentages (ESP) above 50%, while surrounding good vegetation zones exhibited ESP values <10%. This coupled with low soluble-Na concentrations (<2 cmol/kg) suggests insufficient calcium (Ca) amendments were initially applied to ameliorate the sodic conditions of the spoil. The sampling design used to determine Ca amendment rates, which consisted of a composite of 5 spoil cores taken from each 0.8 ha area, was apparently insufficient to account for the highly heterogeneous spoil material that occurred throughout these abandoned bentonite reclamation sites. To revegetate these small degraded sites, additional Ca amendment would be necessary and reseeding would be required. However, the authors recommend further monitoring of the affected sites to determine if unfavorable conditions continue to degrade the reclaimed landscape before any attempt is made to rehabilitate the affected sites. If the degraded sites are stable, further Remediation efforts are not warranted because small areas of little or no vegetation are common on native landscapes of these areas.
- Research Organization:
- USDI-BLM, Salt Lake City, UT (US)
- OSTI ID:
- 20023314
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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