Plant performance on anthroposols at Huckleberry Mine, Houston, British Columbia.

Supplies of topsoil are often in limited supply for use in mine reclamation activities it may be necessary to build soils (Anthroposols) using locally available substrates. Revegetation test plots were established at Huckleberry Mine, Houston, B.C., to investigate plant performance on soils supplemented with (or without) non-acid generating (NAG) sand and fertilizer. The addition of NAG sand reduced some soil properties conducive to plant growth (e.g. cation exchange capacity), yet plant performance was not significantly lower than that observed in soil-only plots. When combined with a fertilizer application, plant performance on NAG sand-supplemented soils significantly increased. Trace element concentrations in supplemented soils were low and should not have any adverse effects on plant growth or the local environment. Plant performance of blue wildrye (mixed genotype variety) was shown to be higher than all other species examined and is suggested as the best candidate for the revegetation at Huckleberry Mine. --P. ii.