After mining and reclamation, soils are in poor condition, often suffering from compaction, low nutrient availability, and the loss of soil organic carbon and soil microbial community among other issues. On reclaimed mine land in southeast Ohio, we replaced the non-native mix of cool season grasses and forbs which was used in reclamation with native prairie species, planting 672 acres of prairie between 1999 and 2016. Prairie plants are known for their deep roots, and have been shown to improve soil properties in prairie restorations on agricultural lands. Our restoration goals for this project were to a) increase soil health b) increase plant diversity c) increase native plant composition, and d) improve habitat for pollinators or other wildlife. To evaluate success of this restoration, we monitored the vegetation community and soil properties from 2016-2018, comparing prairies of different ages and cool season ‘baselines’
Results/Conclusions:
While the plant community composition shifted with age of prairie, and floristic quality was generally higher in prairies, species diversity and richness were not higher in older prairies as compared with the baselines. Many soil properties did not show significant differences between prairie areas and baselines as well. Glucosoidase activity, a measure of microbial activity, was higher in younger prairies than baseline, but was lower in older prairies than baseline. Comparisons with restored prairies in an agricultural area showed similar results, with the oldest (planted in 1975) prairie having the lowest glucosoidase activity as compared with those planted in 2001 and 2015. Results indicate that prairies may have naturally lower soil microbial activity (slower carbon turnover) but higher soil organic carbon than other grassland types. Despite this, prairies act as a sink for organic carbon, suggesting a buildup of a stable organic carbon pool over time (carbon sequestration). This is another example of how low microbial activities might not indicate poor soil health, demonstrating profound consideration of soil forming possesses is fundamental for evaluating soil health when comparing different ecosystem types. Determining the success of our restoration goals was more challenging than expected, but over all we can call the prairie restorations effective in establishing a native plant community and soil properties typical for prairies.