Native prairie grasses for reclaiming ungraded mine spoil in southern Illinois

Conference · Sat Dec 01 04:00:00 EST 1984 · Univ. Ky., Off. Eng. Serv., (Bull.); (United States)

OSTI ID:5340765

Bonfert, G A; Ashby, W C

Native grasses may be useful in the revegetation of abandoned mined lands, related to their low nutrient requirements and permanent cover. Due to the inherently variable soil moisture conditions on ungraded mine spoil two species with differing moisture requirements were chosen for study. Little bluestem and switchgrass were dominants of upland and lowland tall grass prairie, respectively. The research area had been mined by a bucket-wheel excavator in 1967, not graded, and aerially seeded with a standard reclamation mix of cool-season pasture grasses. During the first growing season there were statistically significant (p. 05) differences in vegetation density between topographic positions. During the second growing season stem numbers increased, providing more uniform coverage on all areas. Density of planted grasses exceeded that of weeds throughout the study. Drought conditions in southern Illinois during summer 1983 reduced corn and soybeans drastically, and cool season grasses surrounding the research sites wilted. These drought tolerant native grasses were not wilted, attained maximum height growth (as reported for prairie soils), and produced seed only 16 months after planting. This performance on mine spoil surpasses that reported for prairie soils, where native grasses did not produce seed until three or more years after planting. The present results encourage increased use of native grasses, particularly to reclaim areas with variable site and weather conditions.

• Research Organization: Southern Illinois Univ., Carbondale
• OSTI ID: 5340765
• Report Number(s): CONF-841204-
• Conference Information: Journal Name: Univ. Ky., Off. Eng. Serv., (Bull.); (United States)
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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