The vegetation rehabilitation of iron ore waste dumps and industrial site waste is an important part of completion criteria for mining, especially as legislation requirements increase. There are limited guidelines currently available for companies to achieve these rehabilitation goals and those that exist tend to be anecdotally rather than scientifically based. Some scientific studies have been carried out using topsoil and seeding as restoration treatments, but very little information is available on their usefulness in the arid zone. This study assesses the outcomes of a range of rehabilitation projects carried out in the Middleback Ranges, South Australia. / For historical sites, data was collected by line transects and point quarter (i.e they were quantitative and repeatable even if the design was historical). These projects were not originally designed for scientific purposes, so are not controlled or replicated. Therefore data was collected in a descriptive, non-experimental and interpretive manner. Similar data was also gathered, at nearby reference sites (unmined areas) of similar landform to gauge the success of the revegetation. / The historical study showed that long-term monitoring using scientific protocol is the only reliable method of gauging rehabilitation success and may be crucial in deciding completion criteria in the future, whereas ad-hoc restoration with no written records is of limited use to restoration science. However, the historical study did provide an opportunity to discuss rehabilitation success over a longer period than would normally be included in a short study. / A controlled and replicated field - based experiment testing both topsoil and seeding treatments was designed for the Iron Baron mine site, in the Middleback Ranges. A second experiment testing only the seeding treatment was carried out at the Whyalla Steelworks. At Iron Baron mine site ten contour terraces were built which provided 20 transects, allowing five replicates of treatments: topsoil and seed; topsoil and no seed; no topsoil and seed; and no topsoil and no seed. At the Whyalla Steelworks ten transects were furrowed, allowing five replicates of topsoil with seed and five of topsoil with no seed. At both experimental sites line transects were conducted which measured percentage cover, density and canopy volume of emerging vegetation cover. Each measure of vegetation response from each experiment was modelled using spatial analysis of mixed models (SAMM). / The experimental trials confirmed the hypothesis that there is a significant difference in revegetation using topsoil and seeding treatments. Topsoil with seed provided the most superior result. Increases in cover, density, canopy volume and biodiversity proved that both these treatments were effective for the arid zone. Should only one treatment be possible then topsoiling is the more effective option. / Thesis (MAppSc(EnvironmentRecreationMg))--University of South Australia, 2003.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/267700 |
| Creators | Atkinson, Victoria L. |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | copyright under review |
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