Williamson, J. and Jones, D. and Rowe, E. and Healey, J. R. and Bardgett, Richard D. and Hobbs, P. J. (2003) Soil functioning in natural and planted woodlands on slate waste. In: Land reclamation : extending the boundaries : proceedings of the Seventh International Conference of the International Affiliation of Land Reclamationists, Runcorn, United Kingdom, 13-16 May 2003. Balkema, Lisse, pp. 315-318. ISBN 9789058095626
Full text not available from this repository.Abstract
Quarries and minesites are examples of extreme disturbance. Frequently, materials that form soil are scarce and ecological restoration is easier to achieve than productive land. Establishment of soil microbial function is critical to ecological restoration and a key objective of the study. An organic fertilizer containing a mix of sewage and paper sludges was designed to promote soil functioning during the revegetation of slate waste. We compared soil formation under naturally established birch trees (Betula pubescens) on slate waste with that of container-grown seedling birches of local provenance in slate waste amended with either organic or mineral fertilizer. Hypotheses that an organic nutrient source would lead to more rapid establishment of microbial communities and nutrient cycling than mineral fertilizer, and result in a substrate biochemically comparable to that under naturally established revegetation, were supported.