Carbon and nitrogen pools in reclaimed land under forest and pasture ecosystems in Ohio, USA

The long-term changes of ecosystem carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) pools in reclaimed mine soils remains poorly understood. Thus, age chronosequence sites, ranging from  14 year). In the pasture ecosystem, soil C contributed a major portion of ecosystem C throughout the reclamation period: 95% for  25 years of reclamation. However, soil N contributed a significant portion of ecosystem N in both the forest and pasture ecosystems. Ecosystem C and N pools and bulk densities were strongly related with reclamation age for both forest and pasture. The rates of ecosystem C and N sequestration peaked at about 10 to 15 years of reclamation. After 10 to 15 years of reclamation, the rate of sequestration decreased as reclamation age increased.