Nutrient concentrations in tree leaves on brown and gray reclaimed mine soils in West Virginia

Surface mining in Appalachia disrupts large areas of forested land. Federal and state laws require disturbed lands be reclaimed by re-constructing the landscape and replacing soil materials to provide a rooting medium. If insufficient quantities of native topsoil are available, substitute materials derived from the overburden may be used as soil media. This study examined soil and foliar nutrient concentrations of three hardwood tree species on areas where brown and gray sandstone overburden were applied as substitute growth media at the Birch River mine in West Virginia. Soil and foliar nutrient concentrations found in four experimental plots were compared to soil and foliar nutrient concentrations found in a nearby native Appalachian forest. Many foliar nutrients such as phosphorus and potassium were lower in all three tree species on most mine soils compared to trees growing in nearby native forest soils and to tree nutrient concentrations from the literature. Foliar and soil nutrient concentrations in the Brown mine soil were similar to those found in native forest soil, while the Gray mine soil provided significantly lower levels of nutrients. Overall, low nutrient availability in mine soils translates into generally lower foliar nutrient concentrations in trees growing on mine soils. After six years, amended topsoil substitutes and Brown mine soil produced higher foliar nutrient concentrations than Gray mine soil.