With a multitude of physical, biological, and chemical soil characteristics disrupted or degraded during surface mining, it is challenging to achieve proper reclamation, much less restoration, post-mining. We sought to assess the potential of a native wildflower seed mix (NWSM) to establish and achieve high vegetative coverage in the first season using soil amendments. We also evaluated the influence of amendments on community composition and soil quality. In May 2018, we seeded a NWSM on a surface mine in experimental plots treated with either inorganic fertilizer, spent mushroom compost, or left untreated. Plant coverage and community composition within experimental plots were assessed in October 2018. Soil samples were collected at the beginning and end of the season to identify potential changes in organic carbon, nitrogen availability, bulk density, and pH. First-season vegetation results indicate that soil amendments may not be ecologically necessary or economically sensible for initial revegetation using a NWSM. Unamended plots surpassed compost-amended plots and equaled or surpassed fertilizer-amended plots in coverage, species richness, and proportion of seedlings present that originated from the mix. However, results from soil analyses suggest that compost may be beneficial to meeting surface mine restoration goals by improving important soil characteristics, such as percent organic matter, labile carbon, nitrate content, and pH, that could aid ecosystem recovery. Given the high degree of heterogeneity both within and between surface mines, future work should focus on identifying initial soil characteristics that could enable land managers to meet both reclamation and restoration goals using a NWSM.

中文翻译：

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土壤改良剂对露天矿山恢复中天然野花种子混合物的影响

由于许多物理、生物和化学土壤特性在露天采矿期间被破坏或退化，因此在采矿后实现适当的开垦，更不用说恢复。我们试图评估本地野花种子混合物 (NWSM) 在使用土壤改良剂的第一个季节建立和实现高植被覆盖的潜力。我们还评估了改良剂对群落组成和土壤质量的影响。2018 年 5 月，我们在用无机肥料、用过的蘑菇堆肥或未经处理的试验地块的露天矿上播种了 NWSM。2018 年 10 月评估了试验样地内的植物覆盖率和群落组成。 在季节开始和结束时收集土壤样本，以确定有机碳、氮可用性、体积密度和 pH 值。第一季植被结果表明，土壤改良剂对于使用 NWSM 进行初始重新植被可能在生态上是不必要的或在经济上是不合理的。未经改良的地块在覆盖范围、物种丰富度和源自混合的幼苗比例方面超过了堆肥改良地块，并且等于或超过了施肥改良地块。然而，土壤分析的结果表明，堆肥可能有助于通过改善重要的土壤特征（例如有机质百分比、不稳定碳、硝酸盐含量和 pH 值）来实现地表矿山恢复目标，这有助于生态系统恢复。鉴于露天矿内部和之间的高度异质性，