ABSTRACT:
A comparison of 827 ha of reclaimed minesoils in the Northern Great Plains with soils that occurred prior to mining showed an increase in agricultural land capability classification at three of the five mines studied. Increased soil depth and reduced slope primarily accounted for improved land capability. Increased salt, sodium, clay content, and erosion caused a decline in the land capability classification on a few of the mine sites. Overall, 45% of the mined lands were in Land Capability Class IV or better. Only 34% of the same lands before mining were of equal quality. Reclamation practices mandated by stringent state and federal laws have resulted in an improvement in post-mine land productivity in the last decade.
Footnotes
William M. Schafer is a soil scientist with the Cooperative Extension Service, Montana State University, Bozeman, 59717. This article is a contribution from the Montana Agricultural Experiment Station, Reclamation Research Unit. Research was supported by the Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
- Copyright 1984 by the Soil and Water Conservation Society
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