Soil and Vegetation Development on Coal-Waste Dump in Southern Poland

Abstract

As an anthropogenic element of urban landscapes, coal heaps undergo changes due to both natural and anthropogenic factors. The aim of this study was to determine the common development of soil under the influence of vegetation succession against a background of environmental conditions. Vegetation changes and soil properties were analysed along a transect passing through a heap representing a particular succession stage. It was found that changes in the development of vegetation were closely related to the stages of coal-waste disposal, where the initial, transitional, and terminal stages were distinguished. The mean range of pH (H2O) values in the profiles was 6.75 ± 0.21 (profile 1), 7.2 ± 0.31 (profile 2), 6.3 ± 1.22 (profile 3), and 5.38 ± 0.42 (profile 4). The organic carbon (OC) content in all samples was high, ranging from 9.6% to 41.6%. The highest content of total nitrogen (Nt) was found (1.132%) in the algal crust and sub-horizon of the organic horizon (Olfh-0.751%) and humus (A-0.884) horizon in profile 3 under the initial forest. Notable contents of available elements were found in the algal shell for P (1588 mg∙kg−1) and Mg (670 mg∙kg−1). Soil organic matter content was mainly dominated by n-alkanes (n-C11-n-C34) and alkanoic acids (C5–C20). Phytene and Phytadiene were typical for the algal crust on the initial pedigree. The initiation of succession was determined by the variation in grain size of the waste dumped on the heap and the variation in relief and associated habitat mosaic. Algal crusts forming on clay–dust mineral and organic material accumulating in the depressions of the site and at the foot of the heap can be regarded as the focus of pedogenesis.

Long-Term Vegetation Changes and Socioeconomic Effects of River Engineering in Industrialized Areas (Southern Poland)

“…A notable feature of these anthropogenic and artificial forest ecosystems is the presence of non-forest species (Table 1), which enjoy optimal conditions here and benefit from changes caused by forest management and other anthropogenic processes of a global nature [29,68,[70][71][72].…”

“…Nowadays, due to the increasing demand for mineral resources, the number of degraded and disturbed areas has increased worldwide [21][22][23][24][25], and open-pit mining and related works often have an irreversible impact on nature. Mineral mining has one of the strongest impacts of all industries, distorting the environment globally [26,27] and often causing the loss of its ecological functions [28,29]. One of these negative impacts is the alteration of water relations in the zones around sand mining activities.…”

Functional diversity of microbial communities in herbaceous vegetation patches in coal mine heaps

“…Among novel ecosystems, the coal mine heaps represent suitable environments, for studying plant succession and diversity, soil formation, and the development of relationships between plants and the associated microorganisms (Chmura et al, 2022; Kompała‐Bąba et al, 2019; Woźniak, 2010; Woźniak et al, 2022). Excavated material deposited on heaps is free from organic matter, soil microorganisms, or plant propagules (Rahmonov et al, 2022; Woźniak et al, 2011) and presents physicochemical properties unfavorable for plant growth, such as acidic pH, patchy high salinity, and low nutrient availability (Błońska, Kompała‐Bąba, Sierka, Besenyei, et al, 2019; Błońska, Kompała‐Bąba, Sierka, Bierza, et al, 2019; Kompała‐Bąba et al, 2019; Prach & Walker, 2020; Rahmonov et al, 2020).…”

“…Knowledge about the pioneer microorganisms accompanying the early stages of vegetation succession on the coal mine heaps is scarce. Due to adverse physicochemical and nutritional conditions, the first colonizers are photosynthetic algae, chemolithotrophic and extremophilic bacteria, and methanogenic archaea (Bąba et al, 2016; Patel & Behera, 2011; Rahmonov et al, 2022; Wang et al, 2018; Woźniak, 2010; Woźniak et al, 2022; Zhang et al, 2021). Together with organic particles and seeds brought by the wind, animals, and humans, these pioneer microorganisms might be the source of soil organic carbon for saprophytic chemoorganotrophs (Li et al, 2015; Urbanová et al, 2011; Zhang et al, 2021).…”

“…The microbial functional diversity, catabolic, and enzymatic activity in patches dominated by forbs Compared to T. farfara dominated patches, a significant increase in the functional microbial diversity was observed under the vegetation patches dominated by D. carota, even if its abundance in the patches was low (up to 30%). Contrasting with T. farfara, D. carota is a biennial species that produces higher biomass (Kompała-Bąba et al, 2021;Rahmonov et al, 2022). Therefore, it can be substantially involved in the deposition of dead organic matter, stimulating the activity of saprotrophic microorganisms.…”