| title: | Spatial and temporal variation in vegetation in the areas of oil shale opencast mines and semicoke storages |
|---|---|
| reg no: | ETF5764 |
| project type: | Estonian Science Foundation research grant |
| subject: |
1.14. Ecology |
| status: | completed |
| institution: | Institute of Ecology at Tallinn University of Educational Sciences |
| head of project: | Margus Pensa |
| duration: | 01.01.2004 - 31.12.2005 |
| description: | Further need for mineral resources will accelerate degradation of natural habitats, which, beside reducing biodiversity, will cause several other environmental problems. In the second half of the 20th century, worldwide reclamation studies on human-disturbed areas started where the restoration of degraded landscapes was a current challenge for scientist and engineers. As the utilization of natural resources continues and opportunities to restore ecosystems damaged by human activities become more common, restoration is playing an increasingly important role in environmental protection. In Estonia, the mining and processing of oil shale have caused sever changes in local landscapes and damaging of natural landscapes. It has been determined that the purpose of restoration of oil shale mines should encompass aspects of both economic (forestry) and ecological importance. The plant communities in oil shale opencast mines and semicoke storages are suitable objects for studing the forming of plant diversity and its relations with productivity. Within these project we intend to study the impact of alternative ways of restoration (planting different tree species, using spontaneous succession) on the vegetation of oil shale opencast mines and semicoke 'hills'. The main objectives of the study are: 1) to compare diversity and productivity of spontaneous vegetation with that of planted vegetation, and 2) to assess the efficiency of different restoration practicies in enhancing plant diversity and productivity. The study is important in the field of applied ecology; it would yield results that could be used for modifying the current directives of restoration to improve recovery of diverse vegetation. |
| project group | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| no | name | institution | position | |
| 1. | Valdo Liblik | TPÜ ÖI | vanemteadur,juhataja | |
| 2. | Margus Pensa | Institute of Ecology at Tallinn University of Educational Sciences | researcher | |