Vegetation Cover Development Resulting from Different Restoration Approaches of Exploited Mines

ABSTRACT The vegetation cover development is an essential step towards the restoration of the ecosystems. In this work, we applied remote sensing to evaluate the temporal development of vegetation cover on exploited mines revegetated with five approaches: natural regeneration, tree plantation, cultivation of trees + herbs, topsoil replacement + tree plantation, and sewage sludge incorporation into mining substrate. Results showed that the natural regeneration approach would require a secular time to provide satisfactory vegetation cover on the exploited mine. Tree plantation required fifteen years to provide 80% of vegetation cover. The use of topsoil + trees or the incorporation of sewage sludge into mining substrates achieved the fastest development of vegetation cover (2.5-5 years) and the highest percentages of revegetated surface (80-95%). However, the floristic composition of vegetation covers is as important as their development, and some restoration approaches are reported to stimulate weed invasion while others prevent it.