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Microbial Bioassay Techniques For Assessing Acid Mine Spoil Amendments For Revegetation, Michael A. Anderson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The revegetation of sterile acid mine spoils is a costly and lengthy process due to the many factors (pH, toxic materials, low nutrients, poor soil structure, temperature, moisture, length of growing season, etc.) which impede the establishment of stable plant communities. A microbial bioassay technique applied to soil systems has been developed to allow a rapid (four weeks) and integrated (with respect to nutrients and toxicants) determination of the best amendments for stabilizing mine spoils by revegetation. Using mine spoil from the Blackbird Mine, Cobalt (near Salmon), Idaho, various comb illations of nitrogen, phosphorus, chelators, trace elements, potassium, manure and …