Geochemical studies of plants and soils in the Beluga Coal Field, Alaska

This paper reports on evaluation of the geochemistry of undisturbed plants and soils that is essential for objective predictions of the rehabilitation potential of an area to be disturbed by strip mining. These data also can be used after mining and rehabilitation to monitor geochemical changes in the landscape resulting from the rearrangement of rock strata and the disruption of soil development and of natural plant communities. A predevelopmental geochemical survey was conducted for the Capps area of the Beluga coal field in Alaska. Soil and plant collections were conducted according to an analysis-of- variance sampling design. This design allowed us to determine the appropriate scale for geochemical mapping, estimate the minimum number of samples necessary to prepare stable map patterns, and establish goechemical baselines. The data were also used to examine the relations between soil geochemistry and plant uptake