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Restoration of postmining areas is a frequently addressed topic requiring a comprehensive view. In this article, the recovery process of selected postmining spoil heap sites was evaluated using an approach based on calculation of Nash equilibrium (NE) probability distributions. Many of these sites have been allowed to recover by spontaneous succession, while on others, a variety of restoration procedures have been tested, most of them variants of the forest plantation type. The evaluation was carried out on selected data from each site that reflects four factors: the richness of the vegetation cover, the amount of biomass as soil macrofauna per unit area, the forestry yield, and the attractiveness for recreation use. The analysis was based on permuted game configurations in which these factors were treated as competing entities, adversaries that were differentially successful in each location depending on the conditions of the recovery procedure used. The game strategies that the factors exhibited as theoretically interacting entities had no primary information content, which meant that they could be treated stochastically. The result was a distribution of the NE probability at each location. Considering the fact that this result reflected the degree of optimality of the included factors, the calculation could be considered as a specific type of multicriteria evaluation, which was practically applicable and provided unambiguous results. The NE probability in sites restored by deciduous tree stands was higher, which was therefore assumed to correspond to higher stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between vegetation and selected soil characteristics in different monoculture forest types was investigated as part of a landscape restoration project after brown coal mining. Six forest types were selected: alder (Alnus sp.), spruce (Picea sp.), pine (Pinus sp.), larch (Larix sp.), long-term deciduous forest (Quercus robur, Tilia sp.), and forest created by spontaneous succession. These stands were classified into two age categories (younger and older). The soil attributes, C/N, TC, TN, pH, and A horizon depth were assessed. The observed species were categorized into functional groups by life history, life forms according to Raunkiær, and affinity to the forest environment. C/N ratio, humus thickness, and canopy cover were the main soil parameters affecting plant communities. The highest C/N values were recorded in Pinus and Larix stands, which were significantly different from deciduous and succession stands. The highest diversity index was noted in younger stands of Alnus and the lowest in younger stands of Picea. Intermediate values of the diversity index were achieved in successional stands at both age levels and in Larix and Alnus stands. The species belonging to a functional group was not an important factor in these habitat types. The species composition and vegetation change over time in the Alnus, long-life deciduous, and Larix stands show that these species are more suitable for forestry reclamation than spruce or pine. The study also emphasizes the great value of spontaneous succession areas as full-fledged alternatives to forestry reclamation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We tested the effect of main soil characteristics and tree species on earthworm community composition and abundance in reclaimed spoil heaps planted with five different tree species. Earthworm abundance and biomass was highest at alder plantation, followed by the oak plantation. It was positively correlated with the total N content (C:N ratio), which was highest in alder plantation. The correlation was stronger for endogeic earthworms (genus Aporrectodea and Octolasion) than litter-feeders. Soil moisture, measured in top 10 cm, affected only endogeic species. Other soil variables (pH, total P, Ca) didn't have a strong effect on earthworms. The earthworm community composition was similar in alder and oak, with most species occurring at both sites, however in alder forest the epigeic species Dendrobaena octaedra was more common, whilst in oak forest the epigeic earthworms form genus Lumbricus were more abundant (L. rubellus and L. castaneus). The anecic species Aporrectodea longa was more abundant at the alder site, but L. terrestris was more abundant at the Oak site. The alder forest was characteristic by a thick humus layer (10 – 15 cm), which at oak and larch site was thinner (4 – 7 cm) and at pine and spruce stands was absent. Soil macroarthropods were most abundant in alder forest and were strongly correlated with earthworm abundance at each specific site. We conclude that the alder plantations have most palatable litter and lowest C:N ratio, therefore support the highest numbers of soil macrofauna. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Geodiversity plays an important role in species establishment during spontaneous succession. At post-mining sites in the Czech Republic in 2003, we established plots in which the surface of the heaped overburden was either kept wave-like or leveled. Based on surveys conducted from 2006 to 2015, leveled plots were increasingly dominated by grasses and herbs (and especially by the grass Calamagrostis epigejos ) while the wave-like plots were increasingly dominated by the trees Salix caprea and Betula pendula . In 2015, a detailed survey was conducted of the dominant species. Both S. caprea and B. pendula occurred more often in wave-like plots than in leveled plots; this was particularly true for trees taller than 1 m, which were absent in leveled plots. In wave-like plots, leaf and root biomasses of both woody species were higher on the wave slopes than on the wave depressions. Nitrogen content was higher but content stress indicating proline in leaves of S. caprea was lower in wave-like plots than in leveled plots. In wave-like plots, both woody species occurred mainly on wave slopes but C. epigejos occurred mainly in the depressions. We speculate that trees were more abundant in wave-like plots than in leveled plots because the waves trapped tree seeds and snow and because the soil porosity was greater in wave-like than in leveled plots. Grasses may have preferred the leveled plots because soil porosity was lower and clay content was higher in leveled than in wave-like plots. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]