Biology and establishment of mountain shrubs on mining disturbances in the Rocky Mountains, USA

Abstract

The Rocky Mountains of the western United States contain many economically important natural resources. Increasing development of these resources has lead to land degradation, which often requires restoration efforts. A common type of disturbance in this region is mineral extraction and these activities often occur in zones of vegetation dominated by shrubs. These mined lands have proven to be particularly challenging to restore to native shrub cover. Mountain shrubland species such as big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata), antelope bitterbrush (Purshia tridentata), Saskatoon serviceberry (Amelanchier alnifolia), black chokecherry (Prunus virginiana), mountain mahogany (Cercocarpus montanus), and snowberry (Symphoricarpos sp.) are crucial species for wildlife in this region due to the seasonal dependence of many wildlife species on the mountain shrubland zones. The development of successful restoration techniques for these key shrub species is therefore important for the continued and sustainable utilization of natural resources in the Rocky Mountains.The purpose of this literature review is to provide a reference to land managers working on woody plant establishment on mining disturbances in mountain shrublands in the Rocky Mountains. This review covers the biology, ecology, and propagation of six shrub species that are of primary importance for meeting regulatory compliance in this region. Based upon this survey of the published literature, we conclude that successful establishment of these species has most often involved: (1) utilization of local shrub ecotypes, varieties or subspecies in reclamation efforts, (2) protection from browsing during the establishment phase, (3) strategies for avoiding herbaceous competition, and (4) providing a source of mutualistic soil organisms. Additional specific recommendations for each of these species are discussed.

Ecological Study of Forests Dominated by Endangered Species, Taxus Chinensis Var. Mairei , in Shanxi of China

“…These factors, including topographic variables, soil variables and human activities, interact with each other, and this interaction is very complicated. In our study, the most important nutrients, soil organic matter, water content, N, P, Zn and Mn were significantly correlated with each other (Paschke et al, 2003;Jin et al, 2007). The most soil variables were correlated with aspect, and some of them related to slope, i.e.…”

“…mairei communities in the study area. The variation of elevation, slope and aspect also affects the change of soil variables (Anderson, 1982;Molles, 2002, Paschke et al, 2003Saeki, 2007).…”

Fuzzy C-means Clustering Applied to the Classification of <i>Glycyrrhiza uralensis</i> Communities in North China

“…They distribute from temperate meadow grassland, through typical temperate steppe and desert steppe to temperate desert regions from east to west in North China [15]. These communities are important not only for protection of medicinal plant species but also for conservation of ecosystems and their environments in semi-arid and arid regions in North China [23,24]. The classification results by fuzzy C-means clustering are reasonable according to vegetation classification system of China [25][26][27].…”

An analytical approach with a reliable logic and a ranking policy for post-mining land-use determination

“…which arise in land-use evaluations of mined or other disturbed lands. Moreover, Cairns (1982); Alexander (1996); Wisconsin (2000); Coppin and Box (1999); Errington (2001); Paschke et al (2003); Stellin et al (2005); Meech et al (2006); Li (2006) and Cao (2007) have focused on special post-mining land-uses that were exercised in some mine sites.…”