Form Submission: Participation Entry

It is estimated that surface mining (i.e., strip mining) accounts for 7% of deforestation in developing countries along with other environmental consequences including soil degradation, erosion, and polluted runoff. Revegetation methods are commonly used for reclamation of abandoned mines, however, critical uncertainties remain for these applications in tropical regions. Here, a time series approach was used to assess the ability of leguminous plantations to facilitate succession of native forests. Soil and vegetation data were analyzed to elucidate trends in understory development. One-way analysis of variance did not reveal an improvement in soil properties or species composition (i.e., increased woody diversity) in the chronosequence. However, linear models show that soil nitrogen and soil pH are significant predictors of woody species diversity and abundance respectively. Thus, future management should include soil amendments to increase soil nitrogen and pH.