Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Effects of meteorology and soil on the herb species diversity in plantations in a reclamation area of coal mine after 6 years

  • Research Article
  • Published:
Environmental Science and Pollution Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The ecological restoration of mining areas has always been emphasized in ecological research. This study has investigated herb species diversity of plantations in a reclamation area of the Antaibao opencast coal mine in China after 6 years, aiming to investigate the changes over time and spontaneous succession patterns. One hundred fifty-six species of naturally colonizing herb belonging to 26 families and 86 genera in the six plantations were chosen. Most of 24 herb-dominant species belong to Gramineae, Compositae, and Papilionaceae. Species diversity, meteorology, and soil were recorded. Over time, although the dominant degree of Gramineous has decreased and the degree of Labiatae and Polygonaceae has increased, it still indicated that Gramineae, Compositae, and Papilionaceae occupied an important position in the herb community and played an important role in natural vegetation recovery in reclamation area of the Antaibao opencast coal mine. The diversity of herb species showed significant differences between different plots and years. Correlation analysis indicates that the most important factors for herb species diversity are soil bulk density, average winter temperature, and the mean autumn rainfall.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aarssen LW (1997) High productivity in grassland ecosystems: effected by species diversity or productive species? Oikos 80:183–184

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Allen SE (1989) Chemical analysis of ecological materials (2nd edition) (p. 368). Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford

  • Bai ZK, Guo QX, Wang GL, Zhang QJ, Wei ZY (2001) The evolution and disposition of benefit of land reclamation and ecological rehabilitation in mining area. J Nat Resour 16(6):525–530

    Google Scholar 

  • Billings W (1938) The structure and development of old-field pine stands and certain associated physical properties of the soil. Ecol Monogr 8:437–499

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bradshaw AD (1989) Wasteland management and restoration in Western Europe. J Ecol 26:775–786

    Google Scholar 

  • Bremner JM, Keeney DR (1966) Determination and isotope-ratio analysis of different forms of nitrogen in soils: 3. exchangeable ammonium, nitrate, and nitrite by extraction-distillation methods. Soil Sci Soc Am J 30 (5):577–582

  • Cao YG, Wang JM, Bai ZK, Zhou W, Zhao ZQ (2015) Differentiation and mechanisms on physical properties of reconstructed soils on open-cast mine dump of loess area. Environ Earth Sci 7:6367–6380

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dave C, Cathy R, Laura H, Lorraine P (2007) Plant colonization and arsenic uptake on high arsenic mine wastes, New Zealand. Water Air Soil Pollut 179:351–364

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Diaz S, Cabido M (2001) Vive la difference: plant functional diversity matters to ecosystem processes. Trends Ecol Evol 16:646–655

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fan YH, Lu ZH, Cheng JL, Zhou ZX, Wu G (2003) Major ecological and environmental problems and the ecological reconstruction technologies of the coal mining areas in China. Acta Eclogica Sinica 23(10):2144–2152

    Google Scholar 

  • Glenn-Lewin D, Peet R, Veblen T (1992) Succession: theory and prediction (pp. 180–190). Chapman & Hall, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Grace JB (1999) The factors controlling species density in herbaceous plant communities: an assessment. Perspect Plant Ecol Evol Syst 2:1–28

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grau HR, Aide TM, Zimmerman JK, Thomlinson JR, Helmer E, Zou XM (2003) The ecological consequences of socioeconomic and land-use changes inpostagriculture Puerto Rico. Bioscience 53:1159–1168

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grime JP (1998) Benefits of plant diversity to ecosystems: immediate, filter and founder effects. J Ecol 86:902–910

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heshmatti G, Squires VR (1997) Geobotany and range ecology: a convergence of thought? J Arid Environ 35:395–405

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kahmen A, Perner J, Audorff V, Weisser W, Buchmann N (2005) Effects of plant diversity, community composition and environmental parameters on productivity in montane European grasslands. Oecologia 142:606–615

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lavoiel C, Grosvernier P, Girard M, Marcoux K (2003) Spontaneous revegetation of mined peatlands: an useful restoration tool? Wetl Ecol Manag 11:97–107

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lawton JH (1994) What do species do in ecosystems. Oikos 71:367–374

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leendertse P (1997) Long-term changes (1953–1990) in the salt marsh vegetation at the Boschplaat on Terschelling in relation to sedimentation and flooding. Plant Ecol 132:49–58

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li SQ, Wu DM, Zhang JT (2005) Effects of vegetation and fertilization on weathered particles of coal gob in Shanxi mining areas, China. J Hazard Mater 124:209–216

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Li SQ, Yang BS, Wu DM (2008) Community succession analysis of naturally colonized plants on coal gob piles in Shanxi mining areas, China. Water Air Soil Pollut 193:211–228

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Luisa M, Gabriela V, Salvador S (2001) Spatial and temporal variability during primary succession on tropical sand dunes. J Veg Sci 12:361–372

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mehlich M (1984) Mehlichs-3 soil test extractant: a modification of the Mehlich 2 extractant. Commun Soil Sci Plant Anal 15:1409–1416

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nie YY, Li XE, Wang G (2010) Variation mode of α diversity and β diversity of plant community of different habitat gradients from south-facing slope to north-facing slope and its relation with different environmental factors. J Lanzhou Univ (Nat Sci) 46(3):74–79

    Google Scholar 

  • Ottoa R, Krüsi BO, Burgac CA, Fernández-Palaciosa JM (2006) Old-field succession along a precipitation gradient in the semi-arid coastal region of Tenerife. J Arid Environ 65:156–178

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parkinson JA, Allen SE (1975) A wet oxidation procedure suitable for the determination of nitrogen and mineral. Commun Soil Sci Plant Anal 6:1–11

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Peet RK (1974) The measurement of species diversity. Ann Rev Ecol Syst 11(5):285–307

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rayment GE, Higgingson FR (1992) Australian laboratory handbook of soil and water chemical methods. Inkata Press

  • Walkley A, Black IA (1934) An examination of the Degtjareff method for determining soil organic matter and a proposed modification of the chromic acid titration method. Soil Sci 38:29–38

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang YF, Cai YC (1988) Studies on genesis, types and characteristics of the soil of the Xilin River basin. Research on Grassland Ecosystem, (3):23–83

  • Wang LY, Guo DG, Bai ZK, ShangGuan TL (2012) Species composition and spatial pattern of understory herbaceous plants on an ecological rehabilitation site from open coal mining. Chin J Appl Environ Biol 18(3):399–404

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xu L, Zhou XC, Wang DM (2005) Progress on the reclamation of gangue waste area. Sci  Soil  Water Conserv 3(3):117–122

    Google Scholar 

  • Yang SF, Fang WX, Hu RZ (2004) Advances in studying environmental impact and pollution control of coal mine waste in China. Bull Mineral Petrol Geochem 23:264–269

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yue JY, Guo CY, Li JC, Lu N, Wang X, Li QR (2016) Colonized wild plants in the reclamation area of the Antaibao opencast coal mine. Arid Zone Res 33(2):399–409

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhang JT (2005) Succession analysis of plant communities in abandoned croplands in the eastern Loess Plateau of China. J Arid Environ 63:458–474

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang CL (2006) Analysis of current situation and trend of land desertification in coal mine area of Shanxi Province. Sci  Soil  Water Conserv 4(5):40–43

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhang LX, Zhang F, Shangguan TL (2000) Vegetation diversity of Luya Mountains. Biodivers Sci 8(4):361–369

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhang GL, Zhang JT, Guo XY (2005) Ecological relationships among artificial vegetations during their restoration in Antaibao mining area. Chin J Appl Ecol 16(1):151–155

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhao JK (1993) The technologies for land reclamation and their management in mine. Chinese Agricultural, Beijing, p 125

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We thank the members of the Plant Resource and Ecology Laboratory for help with data collection in the field.

Funding

The present study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (no. U1810107) and the Natural Science Foundation of Shanxi, China (no. 201701D121123).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Loess Plateau, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, 030006, China

    Chunyan Guo & Feng Zhang

  2. Shanxi Biological Research Institute Co., Ltd., Taiyuan, 030006, China

    Chunyan Guo, Xiang Wang & Ning Lu

Authors
  1. Chunyan Guo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Feng Zhang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Xiang Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Ning Lu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Feng Zhang.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Additional information

Responsible Editor: Philippe Garrigues

Publisher’s note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Guo, C., Zhang, F., Wang, X. et al. Effects of meteorology and soil on the herb species diversity in plantations in a reclamation area of coal mine after 6 years. Environ Sci Pollut Res 27, 24231–24241 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-08402-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-08402-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation