Biodiversity Characteristics and Carbon Sequestration Potential of Successional Woody Plants versus Tree Plantation under Different Reclamation Treatments on Hard-Coal Mine Heaps––A Case Study from Upper Silesia

Bartłomiej Woś (), Amisalu Milkias Misebo, Wojciech Ochał, Anna Klamerus-Iwan, Marek Pająk, Edyta Sierka, Agnieszka Kompała-Bąba, Michał Bujok, Wojciech Bierza, Agnieszka Józefowska, Julita Bujak and Marcin Pietrzykowski
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Bartłomiej Woś: Department of Ecological Engineering and Forest Hydrology, Faculty of Forestry, University of Agriculture in Kraków, Al. Mickiewicza 21, 30-120 Kraków, Poland
Amisalu Milkias Misebo: Department of Ecological Engineering and Forest Hydrology, Faculty of Forestry, University of Agriculture in Kraków, Al. Mickiewicza 21, 30-120 Kraków, Poland
Wojciech Ochał: Department of Forest Resources Management, Faculty of Forestry, University of Agriculture in Krakow, Al. Mickiewicza 21, 30-120 Kraków, Poland
Anna Klamerus-Iwan: Department of Ecological Engineering and Forest Hydrology, Faculty of Forestry, University of Agriculture in Kraków, Al. Mickiewicza 21, 30-120 Kraków, Poland
Marek Pająk: Department of Ecological Engineering and Forest Hydrology, Faculty of Forestry, University of Agriculture in Kraków, Al. Mickiewicza 21, 30-120 Kraków, Poland
Edyta Sierka: Institute of Biology, Biotechnology and Environmental Protection, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Silesia in Katowice, Jagiellońska 28, 40-032 Katowice, Poland
Agnieszka Kompała-Bąba: Institute of Biology, Biotechnology and Environmental Protection, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Silesia in Katowice, Jagiellońska 28, 40-032 Katowice, Poland
Michał Bujok: Institute of Biology, Biotechnology and Environmental Protection, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Silesia in Katowice, Jagiellońska 28, 40-032 Katowice, Poland
Wojciech Bierza: Institute of Biology, Biotechnology and Environmental Protection, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Silesia in Katowice, Jagiellońska 28, 40-032 Katowice, Poland
Agnieszka Józefowska: Department of Soil Science and Agrophysics, Faculty of Agriculture and Economics, University of Agriculture in Kraków, Al. Mickiewicza 21, 30-120 Kraków, Poland
Julita Bujak: Department of Ecological Engineering and Forest Hydrology, Faculty of Forestry, University of Agriculture in Kraków, Al. Mickiewicza 21, 30-120 Kraków, Poland
Marcin Pietrzykowski: Department of Ecological Engineering and Forest Hydrology, Faculty of Forestry, University of Agriculture in Kraków, Al. Mickiewicza 21, 30-120 Kraków, Poland

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 11, 1-14

Abstract: In the discussion about sustainable forestry, a key role is played by the development of ecosystem services, including ecological, social, and economic ones, in which biodiversity and carbon (C) sequestration are among the most important. Afforestation of disturbed and post-mining sites is one of the ways to minimize the negative impact of civilization on the environment. Optimizing C sequestration strategies at post-mining sites plays a crucial role in promoting ecosystem recovery, supporting climate change mitigation, and enabling C offsetting. In this study, we compared the C storage in the soil and plant biomass of forest ecosystems developed on coal-mine heaps for different scenarios of reclamation and succession. We tested combinations of sites (i.e., non-reclaimed sites on bare carboniferous rock [BR] and sites reclaimed by applying topsoil [TS]) and successional woodland and tree plantation. The estimated potential for total C storage (in the soil + biomass) for TS sites ranged from 68.13 to 121.08 Mg ha −1 , of which 52.20–102.89 Mg ha −1 was stored in the soil and 12.09–20.15 Mg ha −1 in the biomass. In the non-reclaimed sites on BR, the total C storage was much higher, amounting to 523.14 Mg ha −1 (507.66 Mg ha −1 being in the soil), which was due to the geogenic coal content in the BR. However, the C storage in the biomass (15.48 Mg ha −1 ) and litter (5.91 Mg ha −1 ) was similar to the amounts obtained from the reclaimed sites. The number of species did not differ statistically significantly between the analyzed variants. On average, 14 species were recorded in the plots. The average Shannon–Wiener index (H’) value was higher for sites with BR (1.99) than TS variants on reclaimed plots (1.71). The lowest H’ value was for those plots with Robinia pseudacacia in the stand. One of the main implications of the obtained results for sustainable forestry is the perspective of using succession in the recovery of a disturbed ecosystem. We noted that woodlands from succession on BR are highly biodiverse, have high C sequestration potential, and do not require time-consuming reclamation treatments.

Keywords: reclamation; woodland; carbon sequestration; post-mining sites; topsoiling; plant biodiversity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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