Revegetation of mining fields in Argentinean arid regions.

CONY, M. A.; PAEZ, J..; FERNANDEZ, M.E.

Wisconsin

Congreso; Society of Ecological Restoration Word Conference: Reflections on the Past, Directions for the Future,; 2013

Society of Ecological Restoration

Restoring ecosystems impacted by diverse economic activities includes, in most cases, ?assisted? revegetation of such environments. In arid regions, drastic climate conditions and unfamiliarity with physiological aspects of native plant species relative to their establishment complicate the tasks for recovering these ecosystems. ?Assisted? revegetation turns out to be an indispensable practice if the aim is to achieve restoration in the short and/or medium term. . Development of ?technological packages? for revegetation practices, based on a particular analysis of the environment to be restored and plant species to use, enhances the likelihood of recovery success. In the particular case of arid environments impacted by mining activity, total removal of vegetation and modification of soil physicochemical features are daily scenarios in this activity. Different techniques for revegetation of arid regions in Argentina are then discussed, as well as the need to generate nonexistent basic knowledge of the plant species occurring in them, taking the example of studies which are underway in mining fields, at different levels of development. Selection of species, production of germplasm, methods of plant reproduction, production of nursery plants, conditioning and/or correction of soil or substrate, techniques for plant establishment in the final terrain and plantation maintenance practices are put forward and discussed. Preliminary and advanced results, both favorable and unfavorable, of revegetation experiences in mining fields in arid environments of Argentina are presented as well.