Amendments promote Douglas-fir survival on Formosa Mine tailings.

ABSTRACT: While mining provides valuable metals and minerals to meet societal demands, it can cause environmental contamination from the residuals (i.e., tailings) of mining. Tailings are often acidic, laden with heavy metals, and lacking adequate nutrients and physical conditions for plant growth, precluding the establishment of plant cover to reduce the offsite movement of mining wastes. This paper describes a case study at the Formosa Mine in Douglas County, Oregon, where tailings were amended with a mixture of lime, biosolids, biochar, and microbial inoculum to facilitate establishment of Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii [Mirbel] Franco) seedlings. Results show that the tailings pH increased, and Douglas-fir seedlings survived and grew with these amendments. After 2 years, pH did, however, dec

SUBMITTER: Johnson MG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11665576 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Sep-Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature