To dam, or not to dam? Abolishment of further flooding impedes the natural revegetation processes after long-term fluvial deposition of copper tailings
Abstract
Long-term potentials and constraints of nature to spontaneously recover after severe degradation by toxic mine waste, and general principles of mutual modifications of spontaneous vegetation and soils during this process, have remained widely unknown. This study investigates the effect of flooding on natural restoration of a model locality in Eastern Serbia, complexly degraded by 70-years fluvial deposition of sulfidic copper (Cu) mine tailings in a floodplain along 80km of the polluted river flow. We analyzed multivariate response of forest vegetation (floristic and structural parameters) together with physical and chemical properties of concomitant soils and sediments. Floods strongly modify the interactions between soil and vegetation. Three very different types of forest vegetation constitute the response of the nature to key soil adverse factors (excessive Cu availability, low nutrients, and low pH); combined with drought, these constraints completely inhibit revegetation. Continu...al flooding after mine closure, despite the pollution it still brings in, fosters a faster development of highly specialized vegetation and most importantly faster buildup of soil organic matter necessary for phytostabilization of substantial amounts of Cu tailings present in the floodplain. We show that enhanced nutrient fluxes facilitated by natural flooding regime might overrun the constraining effect of deposited Cu also for natural vegetation.
Keywords:
spontaneous vegetation succession / soil organic matter / nutrient deficiency / heavy metals / floodplain restorationSource:
Land Degradation & Development, 2018, 29, 6, 1915-1924Publisher:
- Wiley, Hoboken
Funding / projects:
DOI: 10.1002/ldr.2921
ISSN: 1085-3278
WoS: 000435278900034
Scopus: 2-s2.0-85044220320
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Institution/Community
Institut za multidisciplinarna istraživanjaTY - JOUR AU - Nikolić, Nina AU - Kravljanac Kostić, Ljiljana AU - Nikolic, Miroslav PY - 2018 UR - http://rimsi.imsi.bg.ac.rs/handle/123456789/1172 AB - Long-term potentials and constraints of nature to spontaneously recover after severe degradation by toxic mine waste, and general principles of mutual modifications of spontaneous vegetation and soils during this process, have remained widely unknown. This study investigates the effect of flooding on natural restoration of a model locality in Eastern Serbia, complexly degraded by 70-years fluvial deposition of sulfidic copper (Cu) mine tailings in a floodplain along 80km of the polluted river flow. We analyzed multivariate response of forest vegetation (floristic and structural parameters) together with physical and chemical properties of concomitant soils and sediments. Floods strongly modify the interactions between soil and vegetation. Three very different types of forest vegetation constitute the response of the nature to key soil adverse factors (excessive Cu availability, low nutrients, and low pH); combined with drought, these constraints completely inhibit revegetation. Continual flooding after mine closure, despite the pollution it still brings in, fosters a faster development of highly specialized vegetation and most importantly faster buildup of soil organic matter necessary for phytostabilization of substantial amounts of Cu tailings present in the floodplain. We show that enhanced nutrient fluxes facilitated by natural flooding regime might overrun the constraining effect of deposited Cu also for natural vegetation. PB - Wiley, Hoboken T2 - Land Degradation & Development T1 - To dam, or not to dam? Abolishment of further flooding impedes the natural revegetation processes after long-term fluvial deposition of copper tailings EP - 1924 IS - 6 SP - 1915 VL - 29 DO - 10.1002/ldr.2921 ER -
@article{ author = "Nikolić, Nina and Kravljanac Kostić, Ljiljana and Nikolic, Miroslav", year = "2018", abstract = "Long-term potentials and constraints of nature to spontaneously recover after severe degradation by toxic mine waste, and general principles of mutual modifications of spontaneous vegetation and soils during this process, have remained widely unknown. This study investigates the effect of flooding on natural restoration of a model locality in Eastern Serbia, complexly degraded by 70-years fluvial deposition of sulfidic copper (Cu) mine tailings in a floodplain along 80km of the polluted river flow. We analyzed multivariate response of forest vegetation (floristic and structural parameters) together with physical and chemical properties of concomitant soils and sediments. Floods strongly modify the interactions between soil and vegetation. Three very different types of forest vegetation constitute the response of the nature to key soil adverse factors (excessive Cu availability, low nutrients, and low pH); combined with drought, these constraints completely inhibit revegetation. Continual flooding after mine closure, despite the pollution it still brings in, fosters a faster development of highly specialized vegetation and most importantly faster buildup of soil organic matter necessary for phytostabilization of substantial amounts of Cu tailings present in the floodplain. We show that enhanced nutrient fluxes facilitated by natural flooding regime might overrun the constraining effect of deposited Cu also for natural vegetation.", publisher = "Wiley, Hoboken", journal = "Land Degradation & Development", title = "To dam, or not to dam? Abolishment of further flooding impedes the natural revegetation processes after long-term fluvial deposition of copper tailings", pages = "1924-1915", number = "6", volume = "29", doi = "10.1002/ldr.2921" }
Nikolić, N., Kravljanac Kostić, L.,& Nikolic, M.. (2018). To dam, or not to dam? Abolishment of further flooding impedes the natural revegetation processes after long-term fluvial deposition of copper tailings. in Land Degradation & Development Wiley, Hoboken., 29(6), 1915-1924. https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.2921
Nikolić N, Kravljanac Kostić L, Nikolic M. To dam, or not to dam? Abolishment of further flooding impedes the natural revegetation processes after long-term fluvial deposition of copper tailings. in Land Degradation & Development. 2018;29(6):1915-1924. doi:10.1002/ldr.2921 .
Nikolić, Nina, Kravljanac Kostić, Ljiljana, Nikolic, Miroslav, "To dam, or not to dam? Abolishment of further flooding impedes the natural revegetation processes after long-term fluvial deposition of copper tailings" in Land Degradation & Development, 29, no. 6 (2018):1915-1924, https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.2921 . .