Perennial grasses for mined land

Excerpt

SURFACE mining of coal increased dramatically during the past decade in the Northern Great Plains. After mining, disturbed areas must be reclaimed. Prompt establishment of vegetation is necessary to protect reconstructed minesoil profiles from erosion.

Perennial grasses are a critically important class of plant species for revegetating mined land in the Northern Great Plains. When coal mining in the region began to accelerate and reclamation was mandated in the early 1970s, little was known about revegetation practices for mined lands. Early revegetation failures were commonplace, which helped to create an atmosphere of doubt and controversy over the potential for reclamation success. However, reclamation technology has advanced rapidly (2, 14). Recently developed management principles now make establishment of perennial glasses and successful reclamation highly probable.

Native vegetation

Although much of the more humid, eastern portion of the Northern Great Plains has been converted to cropland, the more arid central and western portions of the region are predominantly native or improved grasslands. Because most surface mining of coal occurs in the western half of the region, reestablishment of grassland vegetation for a variety of land uses is the chief goal of reclamation.

Most native grasslands in the Northern Great Plains are classified …