Forest restoration on the former industrial land of Sulphur quarry in the Ukrainian Roztochya

Abstract

This paper adds to the evidence base in the discussion to what extent woodland development can be a means to restoring the land affected by mining. We investigate the formation of vegetation communities in sites on a former Sulphur quarry in the Roztochya district of the Lviv region in Ukraine to answer the research questions: How can the formation of vegetation cover affect the disturbed sites and what knowledge can be used in restoration practices elsewhere? We perform an experiment examining which types of vegetation are suitable for the restoration. We explore the influence of restored vegetation and re-emerged woodlands have on the process of soil rehabilitation and the increasing organic substance in it. We examine the impact of various combinations of vegetation on land rehabilitation. Explaining the degree of colonization of waste land by various types of vegetation helps us to reveal the trends of regenerative processes and identify the most promising for restoration tree species in affiliation with the ground vegetation. The results can assist decision-makers in choosing compatibility alliances of vegetation to sustain regeneration processes. Although this research is location specific, the knowledge developed can to a degree be applied to similar places, in the temperate zone.