The vegetation systems of East Kent colliery and a study of the factors limiting their development

The ecological restoration of derelict and contaminated land necessarily focuses on the establishment of self-sustaining vegetation to provide; stability, pollution control and improved visual appearance to the land. The colliery waste, on the three sites investigated in this research, is deficient in plant resources. However, plants do colonise it. The species richness and functional composition of the vegetation, and associated mycorrhizal symbionts, have been investigated on these resource-limited substrata. The effects of environmental gradients, especially of nitrogen, on vegetation systems were used to gain an understanding of the ecological processes which operate in successional vegetation systems. The findings enabled the better understanding of functional components of the developing vegetation systems and what major parameters limit them. The findings have also been used in developing ecological restoration strategies.