Reclamation of abandones mine lands and fish and wildlife mitigation needs

The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 has provided a funded program for reclaiming the nation's abandoned coal-mine lands. This paper reviews methods of inventorying such lands and discusses criteria and planning strategies needed to ensure that fish and wildlife values are given consideration in development and implementation of reclamation plans. Habitat evaluation methods are briefly discussed

Regional environmental studies: application of the Geoecology Data Base. [County level studies]

Regional studies examine the spatial, temporal, and functional characteristics of geographic areas whose size and boundary configuration often depend on the definition of a particular problem. Thus, reference may be made to ecological, urban, economic, political, or abstract regions. To address environmental problems at the regional scale, the county-level Geoecology Data Base was developed. Using selected variables from existing data sources, a standardized digital data base was created for the conterminous United States. Over 1000 variables on file for county-subcounty units provide data on terrain, water resources, forestry, vegetation, wildlife, agriculture, land use, climate, air quality, population, and energy. The data base is described, and the utility of the county-level data base is illustrated with three examples. The Geoecology Data Base is utilized in conjunction with statistical analysis (SAS) and cartographic display (SYMAP, EZMAP, etc.) programs to both characterize regional environmental systems and to delineate possible environmental impacts. Much of the effort involved in creation and expansion of the Geoecology Data Base consists of obtaining and editing diverse inventory and monitoring files. An integral aspect of this activity is the promotion of data exchange through increased awareness of available data and development of more efficient exchange methods. The three examples involve regional environmental studies. First, future patterns of projected levels of SO/sub 2/ are overlaid on SO/sub 2/-sensitive agricultural crops and forest resources. Secondly, those areas of potential natural vegetation of the United States as modified or replaced by current land use are depicted.Finally, an ecological evaluation of potential wilderness areas using a number of county-subcounty ecological parameters is discussed

Impacts of burning and increased nitrogen deposition on nitrogen pools and leaching in an upland moor

1. Upland moorlands are an extensive semi-natural resource, frequently burned either through management or uncontrolled outbreaks of fire. These systems are often situated in areas receiving high levels of atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition, yet the effects of burning combined with high N deposition on ecosystem N pools and N leaching to surface waters are unknown. 2. A management burn was applied to an upland Calluna vulgaris moor which contained a set of long-term experimental plots treated with simulated increased N deposition at rates of +0, +40, +80 and +120 kg ha−1 year−1. Leaching losses of total dissolved inorganic N (TDNin) and dissolved organic N (DON) from organic and mineral soil horizons and the N pools in these horizons, as well as in litter and vegetation, were compared before and after the burn. 3. The results showed that leaching of TDNin and DON from both soil horizons increased in a 6-month period after the burn, with leaching of TDNin remaining elevated 2–3 years later. N pools in the deeper mineral layer of the soil also increased after the burn. Increasing long-term N additions magnified the burn effect on leaching losses but lessened the burn effect on the N pools in the mineral layer. In the +40 N addition plots, the amount of N removed in burning vegetation was of an equivalent size to the amount of additional N retained within the system. 4. Synthesis: These results suggest that burning approximately every 10 years may be effective in removing N retained in the system at N deposition rates up to 56 kg N ha−1 year−1. However, extensive burning of moorland or uncontrolled outbreaks of fire over wide areas may considerably exacerbate the threat of N loading to groundwater in areas where moors are more heavily N polluted, increasing the potential for acidification, eutrophication and brown water colouration. The data suggest that this is because the mineral horizon of upland moors receiving high N inputs has already been saturated with N such that increased downward percolation rates of N caused by the burn have risen above a threshold for immobilization (hence leading to more substantial post-burn increases in leaching of N)

Biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in soil

We review the current knowledge on biodiversity in soils, its role in ecosystem processes, its importance for human purposes, and its resilience against stress and disturbance. The number of existing species is vastly higher than the number described, even in the macroscopically visible taxa, and biogeographical syntheses are largely lacking. A major effort in taxonomy and the training of a new generation of systematists is imperative. This effort has to be focussed on the groups of soil organisms that, to the best of our knowledge, play key roles in ecosystem functioning. To identify such groups, spheres of influence (SOI) of soil biota - such as the root biota, the shredders of organic matter and the soil bioturbators - are recognized that presumably control ecosystem processes, for example, through interactions with plants. Within those SOI, functional groups of soil organisms are recognized. Research questions of the highest urgency are the assignment of species to functional groups and determining the redundancy of species within functional groups. These priorities follow from the need to address the extent of any loss of functioning in soils, associated with intensive agriculture, forest disturbance, pollution of the environment, and global environmental change. The soil biota considered at present to be most at risk are species-poor functional groups among macrofaunal shredders of organic matter, bioturbators of soil, specialized bacteria like nitrifiers and nitrogen fixers, and fungiforming mycorrhizas. An experimental approach in addressing these research priorities is needed, using long-term and large-scale field experiments and modern methods of geostatistics and geographic information systems. (Résumé d'auteur