Articles | Volume 1, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-1-621-2015
https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-1-621-2015
Original research article
 | 
16 Sep 2015
Original research article |  | 16 Sep 2015

Soil biochemical properties in brown and gray mine soils with and without hydroseeding

C. Thomas, A. Sexstone, and J. Skousen

Download

Interactive discussion

Status: closed
Status: closed
AC: Author comment | RC: Referee comment | SC: Short comment | EC: Editor comment
Printer-friendly Version - Printer-friendly version Supplement - Supplement

Peer-review completion

AR: Author's response | RR: Referee report | ED: Editor decision
ED: Reconsider after minor revisions (review by Editor) (24 Aug 2015) by Jan Vanderborght
AR by Jeff Skousen on behalf of the Authors (24 Aug 2015)  Author's response 
ED: Publish as is (03 Sep 2015) by Jan Vanderborght
ED: Publish subject to technical corrections (03 Sep 2015) by Eric C. Brevik (Executive editor)
AR by Jeff Skousen on behalf of the Authors (04 Sep 2015)  Manuscript 
Download
Short summary
Surface coal mining disrupts large areas of land and eliminates valuable hardwood forests. Restoring the land to a sustainable forest ecosystem with suitable soils is the goal of reclamation. Soil microbial activity is an indicator of restoration success. We found hydroseeding with herbaceous forage species and fertilization doubled tree growth and microbial biomass carbon (an indicator of microbial activity) compared to non-hydroseed areas. Hydroseeding is an important component of reclamation.