| In order to encourage the establishment of an erosion controlling vegetative ground cover, low cost organic amendments and inorganic fertilizers were incorporated into an abandoned, non-acid generating mine tailings pond. By amending these gold mine tailings with a small quantity (3.7 kg m-2) of combined papermill sludge and fertilizer, a consistent and robust grass/Medicago sativa sward was established within the first growing season. This tailings amendment and the subsequent plant establishment lead to improvements in substrate fertility characteristics including aggregation, bulk density, as well as cation exchange capacity and organic content. Chemical fertility (available nitrogen and phosphorous) was ameliorated by all initial amendment treatments. However, the effect was relatively short-lived, with all amendment treatments returning to their background levels of these nutrients within one to two years. This study further proves the usefulness of papermill sludge as a low cost amendment for disturbed soil substrates, including mine tailings. |
