Too much of a good thing: phosphorus over-fertilisation in rehabilitated landscapes of high biodiversity value

Authors: Tibbett, M; O'Connor, R; Daws, MI

Open access courtesy of:

DOI https://doi.org/10.36487/ACG_rep/1915_52_Tibbett

Cite As:
Tibbett, M, O'Connor, R & Daws, MI 2019, 'Too much of a good thing: phosphorus over-fertilisation in rehabilitated landscapes of high biodiversity value', in AB Fourie & M Tibbett (eds), Mine Closure 2019: Proceedings of the 13th International Conference on Mine Closure, Australian Centre for Geomechanics, Perth, pp. 651-666, https://doi.org/10.36487/ACG_rep/1915_52_Tibbett

Download citation as:   ris   bibtex   endnote   text   Zotero


Abstract:
Fertilisers supply essential nutrients lacking in post-mining substrates in nearly all terrestrial rehabilitation schemes. Regulators typically require the rapid revegetation of post-mining lands as an indicator of early rehabilitation success, mapping to perceived pathways of successful ecosystem recovery. However, we will show how this approach can lead to poorer outcomes in terms of vegetation composition and potentially, long-term issues in ecosystem biogeochemistry. Many mines exist in remote areas and on highly weathered, ancient, nutrient poor soils. Examples of these are the Fynbos of South Africa, the western and northern forests of Australia, the Campos rupestres of South America, and many tropical areas. Typically, restoration requirements in these areas require the return of a native vegetation community that existed prior to mining. This is particularly common for surface strip mining where large areas of land are cleared of vegetation annually. In this paper, we show how, where, and why over-fertilisation can occur. Based on examples from western and northern Australia, we demonstrate that the application of phosphorus-containing fertilisers to these nutrient depleted soils can result in long-term elevated soil phosphorus, with species-specific negative impacts on plant health and growth. We show the rehabilitation benefits that can be gained by judicious fertilisation in terms of vegetation community structure and ecosystem development. Finally, to assess where these findings may have wider applicability, we identify further global regions with nutrient depleted soils, high plant diversity, and current or prospective strip mining operations.

Keywords: rehabilitation, phosphorus, competition, fertiliser, legumes, nitrogen, biodiversity, OCBILs

References:
Banning, NC, Grant, CD, Jones, DL & Murphy, DV 2008, ‘Recovery of soil organic matter, organic matter turnover and nitrogen cycling in a post-mining forest rehabilitation chronosequence’, Soil Biology and Biochemistry, vol. 40, pp. 2021–2031.
Braimbridge, M & Tibbett, M 2005, Fertiliser application to native forest rehabilitation at BBM Interim Report – Field Trial Establishment, Unpublished report CLR-04-12-C to Worsley Alumina by the Centre for Land Rehabilitation, The University of Western Australia, Perth, p. 19.
Brenner, J, Porter, W, Phillips, JR, Childs, J, Yang, X & Mayes, MA 2019, ‘Phosphorus sorption on tropical soils with relevance to Earth system model needs’, Soil Research, vol. 57, pp. 17–27.
Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund 2019, Biodiversity Hotspots Defined,
Daws, MI & Richardson, C 2015, An operational scale assessment of the effects of a reduction in fertiliser application rates on plant species responses in jarrah forest restored after bauxite mining, Alcoa of Australia Ltd., Research Note No. 38.
Daws, MI, Grigg, AH, Standish, RJ & Tibbett, M 2019b, ‘Applied phosphorus has long-term impacts on vegetation responses in restored jarrah forest’, in AB Fourie & M Tibbett (eds), Proceedings of the 13th International Conference on Mine Closure, Australian Centre for Geomechanics, Perth, pp. 693–704.
Daws, MI, Grigg, AH, Tibbett, M & Standish, RJ 2019a, ‘Enduring effects of large legumes and phosphorus fertiliser on jarrah forest restoration 15 years after bauxite mining’, Forest Ecology and Management, vol. 438, pp. 204–214.
Daws, MI, Richardson, C & Standish, RJ 2014, Effects of nitrogen and phosphorus on understorey vegetation and tree growth five years after fertiliser addition, Alcoa of Australia Ltd., Research Note No. 37.
Daws, MI, Standish, RJ, Koch, JM & Morald, TK 2013, ‘Nitrogen and phosphorus fertiliser regime affect jarrah forest restoration after bauxite mining in Western Australia’, Applied Vegetation Science, vol. 16, pp. 610–618.
Daws, MI, Standish, RJ, Koch, JM, Morald, TK, Tibbett, M & Hobbs, RJ 2015, ‘Phosphorus fertilisation and large legume species affect jarrah forest restoration after bauxite mining’, Forest Ecology and Management, vol. 354, pp. 10–17.
de Campos, MCR, Pearse, J, Oliveira, RS & Lambers, H 2013, ‘Downregulation of net phosphorus-uptake capacity is inversely related to leaf phosphorus-resorption proficiency in four species from a phosphorus-impoverished environment’, Annals of Botany, vol. 111, pp. 445–454.
Dinerstein, E, Olson, D, Joshi, A, Vynne, C, Burgess, ND, Wikramanayake, E, … Kindt, R 2017, ‘An ecoregion-based approach to protecting half the terrestrial realm’, Bioscience vol. 67, pp. 534–545.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations 2012, Harmonized World Soil Database v 1.2,
George, SJ, Kelly, R, Greenwood, P & Tibbett, M 2009, ‘Is soil carbon being sequestered along a reconstructed biodiverse Australian Jarrah Forest chronosequence following bauxite mining?’, in AB Fourie & M Tibbett (eds), Proceedings of the Fourth International conference Mine Closure, Australian Centre for Geomechanics, Perth, pp. 137–144.
George, SJ, Tibbett, M, Braimbridge, MF, Davis, SG, Vlahos, S & Ryan, M 2006, ‘Phosphorus fertiliser placement and seedling success in Australian jarrah forest’, in AB Fourie & M Tibbett (eds), Proceedings of the First International Seminar on Mine Closure, Australian Centre for Geomechanics, Perth, pp. 341–350.
Handreck KA 1997, ‘Phosphorus requirements of Australian native plants’, Australian Journal of Soil Research, vol. 35, pp. 241–289.
Handreck, KA 1991, ‘Interactions between iron and phosphorus in the nutrition of Banksia ericifolia L. f. var. ericifolia (Proteaceae) in soil-less potting media’, Australian Journal of Botany, vol. 39, pp. 373–384.
Hopper, SD 2009, ‘OCBIL theory: towards an integrated understanding of the evolution, ecology and conservation of biodiversity on old, climatically buffered, infertile landscapes’, Plant and Soil, vol. 322, pp. 49–86.
Hopper, SD, Silveira, FA & Fiedler, PL 2016, ‘Biodiversity hotspots and Ocbil theory’, Plant and Soil, vol. 403, pp. 167–216.
Johnson, AH, Frizano, J & Vann, DR 2003, ‘Biogeochemical implications of labile phosphorus in forest soils determined by the Hedley fractionation procedure’, Oecologia, vol. 135(4), pp. 487–499.
Koch, JM 2007, ‘Restoring a Jarrah forest understorey vegetation after bauxite mining in Western Australia’, Restoration Ecology, vol. 15, pp. S26–S39.
Lambers H, Raven JA, Shaver GR & Smith SE 2008, ‘Plant nutrition-acquisition strategies change with soil age’, Trends in Ecology and Evolution, vol. 23, pp. 95–103.
Lambers H, Shane MW, Cramer MD, Pearse SJ & Veneklaas EJ 2006, ‘Root structure and functioning for efficient acquisition of phosphorus: matching morphological and physiological traits’, Annals of Botany vol. 98, pp. 693–713.
Lambers, H, Juniper, D, Cawthray, GR, Veneklaas, EJ & Martínez-Ferri, E 2002, ‘The pattern of carboxylate exudation in Banksia grandis (Proteaceae) is affected by the form of phosphate added to the soil’, Plant and Soil, vol. 238, pp. 111–122.
Marschner, H 1995, Mineral nutrition of higher plants, 2nd edn. Academic Press, London.
Mittermeier, RA, Turner, WR, Larsen, FW, Brooks, TM & Gascon, C 2011, ‘Global biodiversity conservation: the critical role of hotspots’, in E Zachos & JC Habel (eds), Biodiversity hotspots: distribution and protection of conservation priority areas, Springer, Berlin, pp 3–22.
Morley, S, Grant, C, Hobbs, R & Cramer, V 2004, ‘Long-term impact of prescribed burning on the nutrient status and fuel loads of rehabilitated bauxite mines in Western Australia’, Forest Ecology and Management, vol. 190, pp. 227–239.
Murguía, DI, Bringezu, S & Schaldach, R 2016, ‘Global direct pressures on biodiversity by large-scale metal mining: spatial distribution and implications for conservation’, Journal of Environmental Management, vol. 180, pp. 409–420.
Norman, MA, Koch, JM, Grant, CD, Morald, TK & Ward, SC 2006, ‘Vegetation succession after bauxite mining in Western Australia’, Restoration Ecology, vol. 14, pp. 278–288.
Pang, JY, Tibbett, M, Denton, MD, Lambers, H, Siddique, KHM, Bolland, MDA, … & Ryan, MH 2010, ‘Variation in seedling growth of 11 perennial legumes in response to phosphorus supply’, Plant and Soil, vol. 328, pp. 133–143.
QGIS 2019, Open Source Geographic Information System, version 3.4.5, computer software, QGIS, http://qgis.osgeo.org
Raghothama, KG 1999, ‘Phosphate acquisition’, Annual Review of Plant Physiology and Plant Molecular Biology, vol. 50 pp. 665–693.
Ryan, MH, Tibbett, M, Lambers, H, Bicknell, D, Brookes, P, Barrett-Lennard, EG, … & Nicol, D 2017, ‘Pronounced surface stratification of soil phosphorus, potassium and sulfur under pastures upstream of a eutrophic wetland and estuarine system’, Soil Research, vol. 55, pp. 657–669.
Sanyal, SK & De Datta, SK 1991, ‘Chemistry of phosphorus transformations in soil’, Advances in Soil Science, Springer, New York,
pp. 1–120.
Selmants, P & Hart, S 2010, ‘Phosphorus and soil development: Does the Walker and Syers model apply to semiarid ecosystems?’, Ecology, vol. 91(2), pp. 474–484.
Shane, MW, Szota, C & Lambers, H 2004, ‘A root trait accounting for the extreme phosphorus sensitivity of Hakea prostrata (Proteaceae)’, Plant Cell and Environment, vol. 27, pp. 991–1004.
Sonter, LJ, Ali, SH & Watson, JE 2018, ‘Mining and biodiversity: key issues and research needs in conservation science’, Proceedings of the Royal Society B, vol. 285.
Spain, AV, Tibbett, M, Hinz, DA, Ludwig, JA & Tongway, DJ 2015, ‘The mining restoration system and ecosystem development following bauxite mining in a biodiverse environment of the seasonally dry tropics, Northern Territory, Australia’, in M Tibbett (ed.), Mining in Ecologically Sensitive Landscapes, CRC Press, Netherlands, pp. 159–227.
Spain AV, Tibbett M, Ridd M & McLaren TI 2018, ‘Phosphorus dynamics in a tropical forest soil restored after strip mining’, Plant & Soil, vol. 427, pp. 105–123.
Standish, RJ, Tibbett, M, Vlahos, S, Stokes BA & Hobbs, RJ 2010, ‘The effect of fertiliser on floristic diversity and composition of early-successional jarrah forest restored after bauxite mining in south-western Australia’, in AB Fourie, M Tibbett & J Wiertz (eds), Proceedings of the Fifth International Conference Mine Closure, Australian Centre for Geomechanics, Perth, pp 387–395.
Standish, RJ, Morald, TK, Koch, JM, Hobbs, RJ & Tibbett, M 2008, ‘Restoring jarrah forest after bauxite mining in Western Australia: the effect of fertiliser on floristic diversity and composition’, in AB Fourie, M Tibbett, IM Weiersbye & PJ Dye (eds), Proceedings of the Third International Seminar on Mine Closure, Australian Centre for Geomechanics, Perth, pp. 717–725.
Tibbett, M 2010, ‘Large-scale Mine Site Restoration of Australian Eucalypt Forests After Bauxite Mining: Soil Management and Ecosystem Development’, in LC Batty & K Hallberg (eds), Ecology of Industrial Pollution, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 309–326.
Tibbett, M 2015, ‘Mining in ecological landscapes: concepts and challenges’, in M Tibbett (ed.), Mining in Ecologically Sensitive Landscapes, CRC Press, Netherlands, pp. 1–6.
Tibbett, M & George, SJ 2010, Fertiliser application to native forest rehabilitation at Boddington Bauxite Mine: Interim Report – Initial Soil Test Results and Floristic Diversity at Establishment, Unpublished report CLR-08-19-C to BHP Billiton Worsley Alumina Pty Ltd by the Centre for Land Rehabilitation, The University of Western Australia, Australia, p. 19.
Treurnicht, M, Colville, JF, Joppa, LN, Huyser, O & Manning, J 2017, ‘Counting complete? Finalising the plant inventory of a global biodiversity hotspot’, PeerJ,
Wagner, C 2016, ‘Sustainable Bauxite Mining—A Global Perspective’, in D Donaldson & BE Raahauge (eds), Essential Readings in Light Metals, Springer, Cham, pp. 54–59.
Walker TW & JK Syers 1976, ‘The fate of phosphorus during pedogenesis’, Geoderma 15, pp. 1–19.
Ward, SC 2000, ‘Soil development on rehabilitated bauxite mines in south-west Australia’, Australian Journal of Soil Research, vol. 38, pp. 453–464.
Williams, A, George S, Birt, HWG, Daws, MI & Tibbett, M 2019, ‘Sensitivity of seedling growth to phosphorus supply in six tree species of the Australian Great Western Woodlands’, Australian Journal of Botany, unpublished.




© Copyright 2024, Australian Centre for Geomechanics (ACG), The University of Western Australia. All rights reserved.
View copyright/legal information
Please direct any queries or error reports to repository-acg@uwa.edu.au