Understanding Soil Quality Changes after Soil Replacement in Forest Reclamation in Patagonia.

During the last decade, coal mine projects have been installed in Chilean Patagonia. New reclamation plans, requiered specific knowledge in order to recover forest vegetation. Recommendations established by the forest reclamation approach include top soil removal and storage before mining, and then replace it at the time of starting the revegetation efforts. Proper soil handle is critical to preserve soil properties that help early revegetation success. The objective of this study was to evaluate changes in soil quality following mine reclamation protocols. Soils sample were collected from a gradient of soil disturbance sites: Native forest, converted grassland, surface replace the soil, and a mix of top soil and gravel (tecnosol) used by the mine operation to cover the overburden. Soil physical and chemical parameters were measured two years after the last disturbance. Soil water retention curves were analyzed for each condition.Our results suggest that surface soil removal, when is properly handle, improve Nothofagus pumilio restoration efforts in Southern Patagonia in comparison to reforestation on degraded grassland.