Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
substitution. This is not perfect, but is serviceable for analysis and inference of
ecosystem development across the relatively large land areas restored.
Plant communities
After taking the measures to optimise soil handling as described above, it is the
development of vegetation that is usually considered the primary target for
restoration success (e.g., Norman et al.
2006
). Detailed analysis of plant commu-
nity succession after bauxite mining has been described elsewhere (Grant &
Loneragan
2003
; Grant
2006
), and a brief overview of some key observations
will be discussed here.
Restored E. marginata and E. tetrordonta forests both go through a series of
predictable changes that include increases in tree height and stem densities to
a levels comparable to native forest after 20 years or more (Spain et al.
2006
).
Structurally, the northern E. tetrordonta seems to follow a conventional succes-
sional pathway (
Figs. 15.7a
and
15.7b
) (Spain et al.
2006
); there is evidence to
Figure 15.7.
Selected plant community characteristics in a chronosequence of restored
Eucalyptus tetrodonta sites and in nearby unmined native E. tetrondonta forests.
(a) Population stem densities (stems ha
1
); (b) Mean heights (m); (c) Total basal areas and
basal areas of eucalypts and acacias (m
2
ha
1
); (d) Basal areas of E. tetrodonta as a
percentage of total plot basal area and as a percentage of the basal area of eucalypts.
Data presented are based on individuals taller than 1.5m and with woody stems greater
than 1 cm in diameter at 1.5m (after Spain et al.
2006
).
