Figure 10.— The North Beulah mine in North Dal<ota. Revegetated orphaned spoils (right) provide an excellent habitat tor 

 wildlife. The plants have been browsed extensively by deer. The area, which is near the Indian Head mine, was planted by 

 conservation groups to serve as a refuge and is a good example of alternatives for successful reclamation of surface-mined 

 land. The premining surface is seen at the upper left. The highwall and final cut remain nearly bare of vegetation. October 

 1978. 



Sowing is usually done to take advantage of 

 peak precipitation and soil moisture periods. To 

 improve soil moisture absorption and retention 

 and to protect newly germinated seeds, straw or 

 hay mulch is commonly added to the new 6oil 

 surface. In most places such mulching materials 

 must be partially buried to keep them from blow- 

 ing away (Packer and Aldon, 1978, p. 434). A vari- 

 ety of slurried spray-on mulching materials is 

 available (Kay, 1978, p. 471-478), and some have 

 been tested and used in mine reclamation 

 (fig. 17). Mulching is now a general requirement, 

 but it can be omitted under certain circum- 

 stances (U.S. Office of Surface Mining, 1979, 

 p. 15413). Experience has shown that mulches 

 may not be advantageous everywhere. They may 

 temporarily lead to a tying up of soil nutrients 

 and thus create a need for additional fertilizers 

 (Rod Gabehart, Western Coal Co., San Juan 

 Mine, oral communication, 1978). 



Techniques, including construction of ter- 



races (fig. 18) and small scattered depressions 

 and use of continuous deep grooves or furrows 

 along the contour of the land (figs. 17, 18, 19, 20, 

 and 21) have been developed to increase the 

 amount of moisture stored in reworked soils and 

 spoils (Jensen and Schafer, 1979). The latter 

 technique, termed "deep chiseling," is effective 

 in concentrating water in the root zone. In the 

 windy Hanna Basin area of Wyoming, chiseling 

 was also effective in reducing wind destruction 

 of small seedlings which grew only in the 12- 

 inch de$p grooves. Most of these manipulation 

 techniques serve the dual purpose of reducing 

 the amount and speed of water runoff and there- 

 fore are useful in erosion control. According to 

 Jensen and Schafer (1979, p. 129), both replaced 

 soils and spoils tend to have reduced capacity to 

 absorb water because of a reduction in porosity. 

 Topsoiling, however, has proven to be an effec- 

 tive procedure for increasing water infiltration 

 because the topsoil layer acts like a sponge. 



25 



