Red Hills Lignite Mine, Mississippi

The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the effect of surface lignite strip mining on the soil microbiome following a chronosequence of reclamation using 16S rRNA targeted high throughput sequencing in a subtropical environment, while demonstrating the effect of vegetative cover (wood versus pasture) on the soil microbiome. This study will test the hypothesis that reclamation of the soil bacterial community will approximate that of unmined sites as the chronosequence proceeds from recent (~1 yr) to old (~13 yr) reclamation sites.

本研究采用靶向16S核糖体RNA（16S rRNA）的高通量测序技术，在亚热带环境中开展实验，旨在阐明褐煤露天条带开采经不同复垦时间序列后对土壤微生物组的影响，同时探究不同植被覆盖类型（林地与牧草地）对土壤微生物组的调控效应。本研究将验证下述假说：随着复垦时间序列从复垦年限较短（约1年）的样地向复垦年限较长（约13年）的样地推进，土壤细菌群落的恢复状态将趋近于未受开采干扰的原生样地。