Open‐cast coal mining eliminates vegetation, alters physical and chemical characteristics of soils, and therefore limits the establishment of native vegetation by lack of sufficient moisture, increase bulk density, and low organic matter content. Restoration of extremely degraded areas through plantation of fast growing species is expected to accelerate the recovers of soil organic matter and nutrient cycles. The purposes of this study were to compare intrasystem cycling of C, N, P, and base cations in native and restored forests at an open‐cast coal mine in a dry region of Colombia. Leaf‐fall, standing leaf litter, and their N, P, Ca, Mg, and K contents were measured for 1 year in native forests and restored forests of various ages (7, 10, and 21 years). The exploitation of coal in La Guajira degraded soil fertility, and although tree planting was sufficient to achieve the partial recovery of soil chemistry and N cycling relative to reference conditions (i.e., native forest), a P deficiency in forest function remained unresolved even 21 years after restoration. The restoration of biogeochemical processes, particularly of critical processes of the P cycle, requires additional human interventions (such as the application of nutrient‐rich litterfall from native forests of the region) that favor nutrient dynamics and lead to the recovery of a self‐sustaining ecosystem. Thus, multiple efforts are needed for the restoration of these dryland forests to recover ecosystem services (such as soil fertility) that improve C sequestration and help mitigate climate change.

中文翻译：

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哥伦比亚拉瓜希拉（La Guajira）煤矿弃土上恢复的热带干旱森林中生物地球化学过程的恢复

露天煤矿开采消除了植被，改变了土壤的物理和化学特征，因此由于缺乏足够的水分，增加了堆积密度和降低了有机质含量而限制了原生植被的建立。通过种植速生物种来恢复极度退化的地区，有望加速土壤有机质和养分循环的恢复。这项研究的目的是比较哥伦比亚干旱地区一个露天煤矿的原生森林和恢复森林中的C，N，P和碱性阳离子的系统内部循环。在原生林和不同年龄（7、10和21年）的恢复森林中，测量了1年的落叶，立枝凋落物及其N，P，Ca，Mg和K的含量。拉瓜希拉省的煤炭开采降低了土壤肥力，尽管植树足以实现相对于参考条件（即原生林）的土壤化学和氮循环的部分恢复，但恢复后的21年森林功能中的磷缺乏症仍未解决。恢复生物地球化学过程，特别是磷循环的关键过程，需要采取其他人工干预措施（例如从该地区的原始森林中施用营养丰富的凋落物），这些措施有利于营养动态并导致自我维持的恢复。生态系统。因此，需要采取多种措施来恢复这些旱地森林，以恢复改善固碳并缓解气候变化的生态系统服务（例如土壤肥力）。