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Plant diversity and selected soil parameters from 36 sites placed on brown coal mining spoil heaps were analyzed and compared. Spontaneously revegetated or technically reclaimed spoil heaps of different age were situated in brown coal mining district of eastern Most basin in north western part of the Czech republic. Samples were sorted in groups according to vegetation growth and type. Plant diversity increases during succession development and is higher on non-reclaimed sites than reclaimed sites, where diversity decreases with time. Soil bulk density decreases during succession on all sites. Soil pH is decreasing too and this process is faster on spontaneously revegetated sites. Old successional forest type sites have very acid soils probably due to properties of original mineral matrix. Thickness of organic horizon and A horizon is increasing during succession and they appear in mid-aged sites first. Content of soil organic carbon is increasing continuously. Non-reclaimed sites reach higher contents, mainly because of higher content of fossil organic matter in spoil mineral matrix. Keywords: vegetation succession, soil development, reclamation, brown coal mining heaps

To evaluate the outcomes of reclamation design, soil and plant community changes on an unmanaged, 15-year-old certified-reclaimed site were analysed and compared with an undisturbed reference location. Patterns were analysed using MRPP while change was measured with rmANOVA. Plant species were poor predictors of selected soil properties. Percent soil organic carbon increased (p = 0.032), while soil pH did not change. Overall plant community composition did not change in proportion of cover between a priori groups of seeded/unseeded species or between native/introduced species. Individual species did vary in amount of cover change between 1993 and 2007. A linear regression of richness versus area covered by native species determined that the Shannon index is not a suitable measurement for monitoring plant community change towards the reference ecosystem. These findings highlight the importance of initial design, and the potential additive role of landscape architects as part of reclamation planning.

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The paper follows up on previous analyses of changes in soil microstructure in the process of soil development on dumps around Sokolov, Czech Republic, using the soil thin section method. The distribution of structures in the topsoil of the profile was studied in two chronosequences, one overgrown with spontaneous vegetation and one reclaimed by alder planting. A comparison with historical data obtained at these locations 10 years ago was used, and, therefore, the same methods were also applied (Frouz et al., 2007b). The most distinct trend in the process of soil development over time, as observed through both a comparison of soil thin sections from various areas of chronosequence and changes in particular sites over time, is a gradual reduction of purely mineral structures and their replacement by organic matter - litter and its fragments, faecal pellets of arthropods, earthworms coprolites, and roots. This is illustrative of a high share of biogenic structures and a fundamental contribution of organisms to forming topsoil, a fact also pointed out by other authors. Keywords: Soil macrofauna; Soil microstructure; Soil thin section; Reclamation; Post-mining sites; Soil development; Earthworms

Sand Pits have great potential to restore via spontaneous succession. There are not many studies of the development of soils in sand pits; therefore, this work focuses on the development of soil properties in sand pits comparing technically reclaimed sites and sites with primary succession. 120 samples were collected at fourteen sand pits in South Bohemia and selected soil properties were assessed. The surveyed plot were grouped according to age, and the successional and technically reclaimed sites were distinguished. The results were evaluated by analysis of variation and regression analysis. The differences in soil bulk density, pH, thickness of soil organic horizon, Cox, N and C/N ratio between reclaimed and spontaneously restored sites of different age were analysed. The bulk density and pH decrease significantly on successional sites; however, the reclaimed sites do not show signifiant differences. Organic horizon thickness increases with age on both types of sites.Cox, N and C/N ratio do not show significant influence age. Lower values of Cox, N and C/N were measured in initial stages of succession. On the reclaimed sites there is almost no change in values of Cox, N and C/N ratio, because of the occurrence of nutrient-richer substráte used during technical reclamation. Keywords: soil...

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Soil organic matter (SOM) is highly important for soil quality and the global carbon cycle. SOM content is influenced by a complex interplay of many different factors such as time, climate, parent material, vegetation, and others. The effect of time is often studied using the chronosequence approach using a set of study sites differing in age but comparable in other soil-forming factors. The effect of other factors can be studied by comparing two or more chronosequences. An important assumption of these approaches is that the SOM quantification methods produce comparable results both among sites of each sequence and among different sequences. In this thesis, I explored the key factors in SOM accumulation and dealt with SOM quantification methods. I studied SOM accumulation in two model situations - in post-mining sites after open-cast coal and oil shale mining and in landslides in the Western Carpathians. The results of this thesis are summarized in one book chapter accepted for publication and four papers, out of which three have been published and one is prepared for publication in an international journal with impact factor. The key factor affecting the rate of SOM accumulation after a major disturbance is time. The accumulation rates found in the first 40 to 100 years in both post-mining sites...