Abstract
The recovery of soil biochemical properties under grazed, grass-clover pasture, after simulated lignite mining, was studied over a 5-year period in a mesic Typic Dystrochrept soil at Waimumu, Southland, New Zealand. The restoration procedures involved four replacement treatments, after A, B, and C horizon materials had been separately removed, from all except the control, and stockpiled for 2–3 weeks. In each replacement treatment, the effects of ripping to 1.8 m depth, mole drainage, and the use of fertilizer nitrogen were also investigated.
Replacement treatment markedly influenced the recovery of herbage production and soil organic C and total N contents, N mineralization, microbial biomass (as indicated by mineral-N flush) and invertase and sulphatase activities. The effectiveness of replacement treatments decreased in the order: 1. control (no stripping or replacement). 2 A, B, and C horizon materials replaced in the same order. 3. A, B, and C horizon materials each mixed with an equal amount of siltstone overburden and replaced in order, 4. A and B horizon materials mixed before replacing over C horizon material.
Ripping increased herbage production, net N mineralization, and to some extent microbial biomass. Drainage had little, if any, effect.
Fertilizer N also stimulated herbage production, but depressed clover growth. Over 2.5 years, it had little detectable effect on the soil properties.
Increases in soil invertase and, to a lesser extent, sulphatase activity during the trial were closely related to changes in herbage production. Microbial biomass increased more rapidly than did soil organic C in the early stages of the trial.
Rates of net N mineralization strongly suggest that N availability would have limited pasture growth, especially in the treatments with mixed soil materials.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abdul-Kareem, A W and McRae, S G 1984 The effects on topsoil of long-term storage in stockpiles. Plant and Soil 76, 357–363.
Anderson I B and Wylde A F 1979 Southland and Central Otago lignites: The direct liquefaction option. N.Z. Energy J. (Aug.), 108–113.
Ayanaba, A, Tuckwell, S B and Jenkinson, D S 1976 The effects of clearing and cropping on the organic reserves and biomass of tropical forest soils. Siol Biol. Biochem. 8, 519–525.
Ball, P R and Ryden, J C 1984 Nitrogen relationships in intensively managed temperate grasslands. Plant and Soil 76, 23–33.
Biondini, M E, Bonham, C D and Redente, E F 1985 Relationships between induced successional patterns and soil biochemical activity of reclaimed areas. Reclam. Reveg. Res. 3, 323–342.
Blakemore L C, Searle P L and Daly B K 1987 Methods for the chemical analysis of soils. N.Z. Soil Bur. Sci. Rep. 80,
Bloss, R, Oelert, H H Stwerka, J and Watson, D J 1983 Evaluation of a New Zealand lignite for catalytic hydroliquefaction. N.Z. J. Sci. 26, 251–256.
Bradshaw, A D and Chadwick, M J 1980 The Restoration of Land. Blackwell, Oxford. 317 p.
Bradshaw, A D, Marrs, R H, Roberts, R D and Skeffington, R A 1982 The creation of nitrogen cycles in derelict land. Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc. Lond. B 296, 557–561.
Brook, D A and Bates, F 1960 Grassland in the restoration of opencast coal sites in Yorkshire. J. Brit. Grass. Soc. 15, 116–123.
Brookes, P C Landman, A, Pruden, G and Jenkinson, D S 1985 Chloroform fumigation and the release of soil nitrogen: A rapid direct extraction method to measure microbial nitrogen in soil. Soil Biol. Biochem. 17, 837–842.
Chichester, F W and Smith, S J 1983 Biological cycling of 15N-labelled fertilizer nitrogen in lignite minesoil materials. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 47, 676–682.
Down, C J and Stocks, J 1977 Reclamation. In Environmental Impact of Mining. pp 213–292. Applied Science Publishers, London.
Gianello, C and Bremner, J M 1986 A simple chemical method of assessing potentially available organic nitrogen in soil. Comm. Soil. Sci. Plant Anal. 17, 195–214.
Harris, J A and Birch, P 1987 The effects on topsoil of storage during opencast mining operations. J. Sci. Food Agric. 40, 220–221.
Harris, J A, Birch, P and Short, K C 1989 Changes in the microbial community and physico-chemical characteristics of topsoils stockpiled during opencast mining. Soil Use Manage. 5, 161–168.
Hooper R J, McKenzie C J and Natusch D F S 1983 Lignite as a source of liquid fuels in New Zealand. Liquid Fuels Trust Board Report L F 2028.
Insam, H and Domsch, K H 1988 Relationship between soil organic carbon and microbial biomass on chronosequences of reclamation sites. Microb. Ecol. 15, 177–188.
Insam, H, Parkinson, D and Domsch, K H 1989 Influence of macroclimate on soil microbial biomass. Soil Biol. Biochem. 21, 211–221.
Jenkinson, D S 1988 Determination of microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen in soils. In Advances in Nitrogen Cycling in Agricultural Ecosystems. Ed. J R Wilson. pp 368–386. C.A.B. International, Wallingford.
Jenkinson, D S and Powlson, D S 1976 The effects of biocidal treatments on metabolism in soil. V. A method for measuring soil biomass. Soil Biol. Biochem. 8, 209–213.
Johnson, D B, Williamson, J C and Bailey, A J 1991 Microbiology of soils at opencast coal sites. I. Short- and long-term transformations in stockpiled soils. J. Soil Sci. 42, 1–8.
Kiss, S, Dr agan-Bularda, M and Paşca, D 1989 Enzymology of the recultivation of technogenic soils. Adv. Agron. 42, 229–278.
Klein, D A, Sorensen, D L and Redente, E F 1985 Soil enzymes: A predictor of reclamation potential and progress. In Soil Reclamation Processes. Eds. R L TateIII and D A Klein. pp 141–171. Marcel Dekker, New York.
Marrs, R H 1989 Nitrogen accumulation, cycling and the restoration of ecosystems on derelict land. Soil Use Manage. 5, 127–134.
McColl, H P, Hart, P B S and Cook, F J 1982 Influence of earthworms on some soil chemical and physical properties, and the growth of ryegrass on a soil after topsoil stripping: A pot experiment N.Z. J. Agric. Res. 25, 239–243.
Radcliffe, J E 1974 Seasonal distribution of pasture production in New Zealand. I. Methods of measurement. N.Z. J. Exp. Agric. 2, 337–340.
Ross C W, Barker P R, Thomas R F, McQueen D J and Wales J F 1987 Land restoration study-Southland lignite mining: Outline of trial and initial characterisation. N.Z. Soil Bur. Lab. Rep. EP 30.
Ross, D J 1976 Invertase and amylase activities in ryegrass and white clover plants and their relationships with activities in soils under pasture. Soil Biol. Biochem. 8, 351–356.
Ross, D J 1983 Assays of invertase and amylase activities in soil. 1. Influence of buffered and unbuffered systems with soils from grasslands. N.Z. J. Sci. 26, 339–346.
Ross, D J 1987 Assays of invertase activity in acidic soils: Influence of buffers. Plant and Soil 97, 285–289.
Ross, D J 1989 Estimation of soil microbial C by a fumigation-extraction procedure: Influence of soil moisture content. Soil Biol. Biochem. 21,767–772.
Ross, D J 1990 Influence of soil mineral-nitrogen content on soil respiratory activity and measurements of microbial carbon and nitrogen by fumigation-incubation procedures. Aust. J. Soil Res. 28, 311–321.
Ross, D J and Cairns, A 1981 Nitrogen availability and microbial biomass in stockpiled topsoils in Southland. N.Z. J. Sci. 24, 137–143.
Ross, D J, Speir, T W, Tate, K R, Cairns, A, Meyrick, K F and Pansier, E A 1982 Restoration of pasture after topsoil removal: Effects on soil carbon and nitrogen mineralization, microbial biomass and enzyme activities. Soil Biol. Biochem. 14, 575–581.
Ross, D J, Speir, T W, Tate, K R, Cowling, J C and Watts, H M 1984 Restoration of pasture after topsoil removal: Changes in soil biochemical properties over a 5-year period—a note. N.Z. J. Sci. 27, 419–422.
Ross, D J, Hart, P B S, Sparling, G P and August, J A 1990 Soil restoration under pasture after topsoil removal: Some factors influencing C and N mineralization and measurements of microbial biomass. Plant and Soil 127, 49–59.
Skeffington, R A and Bradshaw, A D 1981 Nitrogen accumulation in kaolin wastes in Cornwall. IV. Sward quality and the development of a nitrogen cycle. Plant and Soil 62, 439–451.
Skujiņš, J 1978 History of abiontic soil enzyme research. In Soil Enzymes. Ed. R G Burns, pp 1–49. Academic Press, London.
Sparling, G P, Feltham, C W, Reynolds, J, West, A W and Singleton, P 1990 Estimation of soil microbial C by a fumigation-extraction method: Use on soils of high organic matter content, and a reassessment of the k EC-factor. Soil Biol. Biochem. 22, 301–307.
Speir, T W and Ross, D J 1976 Studies on a climosequence of soils in tussock grasslands. 9. Influence of age of Chionochloa rigida leaves on enzyme activities. N.Z. J. Sci. 19, 389–396.
Speir, T W, Ross, D J and Orchard, V A 1984 Spatial variability of biochemical properties in a taxonomicallyuniform soil under grazed pasture. Soil Biol. Biochem. 16, 153–160.
Sulyok, L and Vörös, I 1983 Relationship of saccharase activity and other soil biological characteristics in the refuse soils of Gyöngyös-Visconta. In Recultivation of Technogenous Areas. Ed. J Szegi, pp 207–212. Matraalja Coal Mining Company, Gyöngös, Hungary.
Syers, J K and Springett, J A 1984 Earthworms and soil fertility. Plant and Soil 76, 93–104.
Tate, K R, Ross, D J, Ramsay, A J and Whale, K N 1991 Microbial biomass and bacteria in two pasture soils: An assessment of measurement procedures, temporal variations, and the influence of P fertility status. Plant and Soil 132, 233–241.
Thompson, F B and Coup, M R 1940 Studies on nitrate and ammonia in soils under permanent pasture. II. The variability of distribution of nitrate. N.Z. J. Sci. Tech. 22A, 72–78.
Vance, E D, Brookes, P C and Jenkinson, D S 1987 An extraction method for measuring soil microbial C. Soil Biol. Biochem. 19, 703–707.
Visser, S, Fugikawa, J, Griffiths, C L and Parkinson, D 1984 Effect of topsoil storage on microbial activity, primary production and decomposition potential. Plant and Soil 82, 41–50.
Widdowson, J P and McQueen, D J 1990 Rehabilitation after opencast mining in Southland. In Issues in the Restoration of Disturbed Land. Eds. P E H Gregg, R B Stewart and L D Curric. pp 132–146. Occasional Report No. 4. Fertilizer and Lime Research Centre, Massey University, Palmerston North.
Williamson, J C and Johnson, D B 1990 Determination of the activity of soil microbial populations in stored and restored soils at opencast coal sites. Soil Biol. Biochem. 22, 671–675.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ross, D.J., Speir, T.W., Cowling, J.C. et al. Soil restoration under pasture after lignite mining: Management effects on soil biochemical properties and their relationships with herbage yields. Plant Soil 140, 85–97 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00012810
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00012810