Ecosystem Development on Naturally Colonized China Clay Wastes: II. Nutrient Compartmentation

Abstract

The compartmentation of organic matter and nutrients in a successional series of naturally-colonized china clay workings was studied. Organic matter and nutrients accumulated in plant, root, litter and soil (except for K and P in the soil). Ecosystem development was not driven solely by redistribution of soil nutrients to the developing vegetation. The importance of nutrient cycling and the amounts of nutrients in each compartment is discussed in relation to the successional development of ecosystems on these wastes. The soil, although the largest store of most elements, contains a much lower proportion of the total nutrients than it does in most other well-developed ecosystems; this may be a characteristic feature of new and developing ecosystems. The N content in the soil must reach 700 kg ha-1 before nonleguminous trees and shrubs, such as Salix atrocinerea, can invade. The relevance of this for reclamation schemes is noted.