The growth of leguminous plants during primary succession in post-mining sites

Post-mining sites are characterized by unfavorable conditions limiting the rapid development of natural vegetation, which is particularly low nitrogen in the soil. Plants with symbiotic nitrogen fixation can be used for reclamation these degraded areas because they increase the nitrogen content in soil and accelerate the primary succession on the dump. The aim of this study was to evaluate the growth of three species of plants of the family Fabaceae, namely red clover (Trifolium pratense), bird's foot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus) and bird wetch (Vicia cracca), in differently old soils from dumps that were reclaimed and compare them to the growth in soils from areas that developed by spontaneous succession. Furthermore, to compare the changes in the growth of these species of plants in a situation where they grew separately in the soil compared to the growth in competition with grass (Poa compressa). Another aim was to evaluate the influence of the growth of these plants on soil properties during primary succession on the basis of measurement of various parameters in soil. The mentioned species of plants were sown into the sifted soils taken from the Velká podkrušnohorská výsypka after brown coal mining near Sokolov. The growth took place in a greenhouse for 5 months. Subsequently, above-ground and..