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Seventeen grass species and two legumes were evaluated in a greenhouse study to determine their potential for revegetation of coal strip mine areas. Each species was grown in 25 cm of topsoil placed over 28 cm of mine-spoil or in 53 cm of spoil without topsoil. Herbage yields were seven times greater and root yields six times greater when the grasses were grown in topsoil than when grown in spoil without topsoil. When herbage production, root production, and crude protein were considered together and given equal weight, the five species with the highest combined ratings when grown in 25 cm of topsoil over spoil were tall fescue, hard fescue, Russian wildrye, western wheatgrass, and Arizona fescue. All grass species studied produced relatively low yields when grown in spoil without topsoil. Average herbage yields for the native and introduced grass species studied were similar, but introduced species averaged greater root production, particularly in spoil material. Two legumes, alfalfa and cicer milkvetch, produced much higher yields and higher crude protein than any of the grasses studied whether grown in topsoil over spoil or in spoil without topsoil. In reclamation of disturbed lands, establishment of a beneficial plant cover is essential for site stabilization and for the proposed future use of the area. Use of species adapted to the soil, climate, elevation, and exposure of the site has been suggested for successful establishment of vegetation (Cook et al. 1974, Currier 197 1, Plummer et al. 1968) on coal strip mine lands. However, relatively little has been reported on the actual growth patterns of these adapted plant species on reclaimed strip mine sites. Herbage growth patterns of plant species used for reclamation purposes are important to consider for site stabilization, game habitat, forage production, and aesthetic values. Studies in northwest Colorado (Berg and Barrau 1973, McGinnies and Nicholas 1980), North Dakota (Ries et al. 1977; Power et al. 1976, 1978, 1979), Wyoming (Dollhopf et al. 1977, Schuman and Taylor 1978), and Montana (Dusek 1975, Farmer et al. 1974, Hodder 1973, Richardson et al. 1975) have evaluated the above-ground growth of several plant species, particularly grasses, grown on various depths of topsoil over spoil, topsoil and spoil mixtures, and in spoil alone. Several grass and legume species appear to produce adequate above-ground growth for reclamation purposes. Collecting root yield data is difficult, so very little is actually known about root growth patterns in undisturbed soils let alone in disturbed soils such as those created by the strip mining process. Hafenrichter et al. (1949, 1968) described normal root patterns for several grass and legume species used for soil conservation in the Pacific Northwest and the northern Great Basin. Weaver (1926, Authors are range technician and range scientist, respectively, U.S. Dep. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv., Crops Research Laboratory, Colorado State University, Fort Collins 80523. Cooperative investigations of U.S. Dep. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv., Fort Collins, Colorado and the Colorado Agricultural Experiment Station, Fort Collins, Published with approval of the Director of the Colorado Agricultural Experiment Station as Scientific Series No. 258 I. This research was funded in part by the Environmental Protection Agency. Manuscript received September II, 1980. 1950), Weaver and Darland (1949), and others (Gist and Smith 1948, Sprague 1933) have studied root systems in natural grassland communities and in croplands in several parts of the country. Root growth into spoil materials should contribute to the stabilization of disturbed sites, enhance soil development processes, and increase chances of plant survival during periods of drought. Roots below 50 cm normally comprise only a small fraction of the total root biomass but are extremely important in providing water and nutrients to plants late in the growing season. Schafer et al. (1977) found that 3 to 4 years were required before root systems of plants grown in mine spoils resembled those in natural soils in weight and distribution. In many of the youngest mine spoils, over 90% of the roots were found above 25 cm, which suggests that shallow roots develop first in reclaimed plant communities; even in old mine spoils, 63% of the roots occurred above 25 cm. In a previous study (McGinnies and Nicholas 1980), we found that aboveand below-ground growth of intermediate wheatgrass and wheat increased with topsoil thickness (up to the 46 cm of topsoil thickness studied). When topsoil was placed over spoil under greenhouse conditions, intermediate wheatgrass produced more roots in the top 25 cm of topsoil and many more roots in the spoil below than did wheat, so it should provide better soil stability. In the field during the second growing season, stand ratings of a mixture of grasses increased with increased topsoil thickness (up to 46 cm of topsoil). These results prompted further interest in evaluating the growth characteristics of species currently used in revegetation programs when grown in topsoil over spoil and in spoil without topsoil. The greenhouse study was designed to (1) evaluate herbage and root growth of I7 grass and 2 legume species when grown in 25 cm of topsoil placed over spoil and in spoil without topsoil and to (2) determine the protein content of the herbage and roots of thegrass and legume species studied.

An Evaluation of 17 Grasses and 2 Legumes for Revegetation of Soil and Spoil on a Coal Strip Mine