Deeper Soil Salvaging Depths Produce Greater Cover of Native Plants than Shallow Salvage Depths on a Reclaimed Coal Mine Site

Direct placement of forest floor material helped establish a diverse plant community including native forest understory species. The deeper soil salvage depth (40 cm) was better than the shallow salvage depth (15 cm) at establishing a forest understory plant community characteristic of the boreal forest.

The benefits of the deeper salvage and placement were clearest three years after reclamation. At this stage the 40 cm salvage depth contained forbs, shrubs and trees that were representative of a range of successional stages of boreal forests. In contrast, sites with the shallower 15 cm soil depth contained more competitive species that were only representative of early successional stages