Figure 35.— Aerial photograph showing mining and reclamation sequence at the Rosebud mine in Montana. The natural land- 

 scape of grass and conifers is shown in the lower left and upper part. In the foreground, a former site for mine-associated 

 buildings was voluntarily regraded and has partly naturally revegetated; the smooth spoil still shows the casting pattern 

 which has limited revegetation. Recently reclaimed spoil (right center) was air seeded. Mining is proceeding toward the up- 

 per left. Haulways and final cuts, some partly refilled with smoothed spoil, contain impoundments of water. July 1978. 



SUMMARY 



After examining the mine sites, we concluded 

 that the specific long-term results of reclama- 

 tion cannot be predicted with certainty. We 

 believe, however, that although general time- 

 tables are not now possible, guidelines do exist 

 for determining the potential for reclamation 

 success. In areas of higher moisture availability 

 to plants and stable land surfaces, a gradual 

 natural recolonization by diverse species was 

 observed on raw spoils. We see no reason, there- 

 fore, why revegetation cannot occur under a 

 planned reclamation program. In no place was 

 climax vegetation reestablished; however, what 

 appeared to be intermediate stages of succes- 

 sion were observed at some mine sites. For 

 these higher moisture areas, we also expect that 

 land productivity, however measured, can be 

 eventually returned to nearly the original level 



for a soil of given character. The more the newly 

 planted surface is used by man, his animals, and 

 his vehicles, the longer the revegetation process 

 will take; it could even be reversed under ad- 

 verse conditions. For drier areas, we believe the 

 same potentials exist, but we caution that these 

 areas are much more sensitive to overuse. 



REFERENCES 



Aldon, E. F., 1975, Reclamation of coal-mined land in the 

 southwest: Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, 

 V. 33, no. 2, p. 75-77. 



1978, Endomycorrhizae enhance shrub growth and 



survival on mine spoils, in Wright, R. A., ed.. The 

 reclamation of disturbed arid lands: Albuquerque, Uni- 

 versity of New Mexico Press, p. 174-179. 



Aldon, E. F., Springfield, H. W., and Sowards, W. E., 1976, 

 Demonstration test of two irrigation systems for plant 

 establishment on coal-mine spoils, in Fourth Sympo- 

 sium Surface mining and reclamation, NCA/PCR coal 



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