ABSTRACT
Recovery of soil health offers insights into the mechanisms underpinning the stability of remediated ecosystems. Indirect assessment of enzymatic activity potential using substrate induced respiration (SIR), is commonly used to evaluate changes in soil microbial activity profiles, with their links to environmental and management factors. In this study, community level physiological profiling (CLPP) was employed to assess the impact of time on surface coal mine soil remediation. When compared with an adjoining control site, analysis of CLPP parameters offer useful insights and prospective tools for assessing soil health, following mining and remediation activities.
Acknowledgments
We also thank BHP Billiton for allowing access to the sampling sites. The authors sincerely would like to thank Lori Schwab-Uchanski, Helena Deswood for their technical support and data analysis.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).