This paper discusses the role of microorganisms in the reclamation of spent shale wastes in western Colorado and the overburden from lignite strip-mining areas in North Dakota. Adverse conditions for plant growth such as low organic matter content, salinity, fine texture and a lack of nitrogen and phosphorus, and a slow rate of soil formation limit the revegetation of the mining wastes. Microbial processes are responsible for the accretion of soil organic matter, the fixation of nitrogen, and the modification of adverse soil properties with the spoil. Possible strategies to take advantage of microbial activities to encourage plant growth in strip-mined land are discussed. Fertilization, seeding, mulching, the inoculation of the rhizosphere of perennial grasses with free-living heterotrophic nitrogen-fixing bacteria, and the production of sulphuric acid by sulphur-oxidizing bacteria to lower the pH of the spoil are reviewed. This material was digitized as part of a cooperative project between the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries. The Journal of Range Management archives are made available by the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries. Contact lbry-journals@email.arizona.edu for further information. Migrated from OJS platform August 2020
Scholarly peer-reviewed articles published by the Society for Range Management. Access articles on a rolling-window basis from vol. 1, 1948 up to 5 years from the current year. Formerly Journal of Range Management (JRM). More recent content is available by subscription from SRM.