ABSTRACT:
Plantings were made in 1980 and 1981 on graded, remined boxcut coal mine spoil (Lenzburg gravelly silty clay loam) to test the ability of grasses and legumes to establish and maintain vegetative ground cover on this rooting medium and to select species that would not be unduly competitive with interplanted tree seedlings. Tall fescue, Canada bluegrass, smooth brome, big bluestem, alfalfa, and crownvetch grew most vigorously after 6 years. Red fescue, which had the most cover at 2 years and the least cover of the five cool-season grasses at 6 years, is recommended for trial interplanting with tree seedlings.
Footnotes
W. Clark Ashby is a professor and David A. Kost was research assistant, Department of Botany, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, 62901-6509. Kevin P. Hannigan is a district conservationist, Soil Conservation Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, McLeansboro, Illinois 62859. Funding for this research was provided by the Forest Service, Northeastern Forest Experiment Station, Research Work Unit NE-1605, USDA, Berea, Kentucky. The authors thank Willis G. Vogelfor help and suggestions in this study; Freeman United Coal Mining Company for use of its property, cooperation, and funding; Urbana Laboratories for contributing appropriate legume inoculants; and Dana Grantham for mine soil surveys. K. P. Hannigan's graduate program in this study was funded by a Domestic Mining Fellowship from the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.
- Copyright 1989 by the Soil and Water Conservation Society
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