Element Content of Crested Wheatgrass Grown on Reclaimed Coal Spoils and on Soils Nearby

Abstract

Fairway crested wheatgrass [Agropyron cristatum (L.) Gaertn.] was analyzed to determine the possible effects of coal spoils at the Dave Johnston Mine, Wyoming, on the chemical composition of this widely used reclamation species. Concentrations of 8 of the 26 elements tested by analysis of variance showed significant differences between the samples growing in 10-15 cm of topsoil covering the spoils and samples from soils nearby. Samples from the mined areas showed about 50% higher concentrations. Concentrations of manganese and uranium, however, were about 150 and 200% higher, respectively. Concentrations of the trace elements cobalt, manganese, and zinc-essential in animal nutrition-ranged from deficient levels in "control" samples to adequate or marginal levels in samples from reclaimed spoils. The phosphorus content of grasses that grew on spoil material was two-thirds that of the control grasses, to the point where the former may be nutritionally deficient as a cattle forage.