Presence of rangeland plant species in the seed bank of coal waste and surrounding rangelands in Karmozd-Savad kouh and Kiasar-Sari coal mines in Mazandaran province

Activities related to the extraction of minerals are one of the factors causing a disturbance in rangelands. Vegetation succession in mining areas depends on the soil seed bank. For this purpose, the soil seed bank was studied in two important coal extraction sites in Mazandaran province to identify and compare seed amount between coal wastes and nearby rangeland as control. Soil and coal wastes samples were taken from 140 plots of 1 m2 in Kiasar coal mine and 115 plots in Karmozd coal mine before the growth season. Samples were kept in a glasshouse for eight months germinated seeds were counted. Results of this study showed that the germination of 28 species in Kiasar and 23 species in Karmozd. 10 and 6 species only presented in Karmozd and Kiasar coal waste, respectively. Annuals dominated the coal waste seed bank in Kiasar while perennials were common in Karmazd coal waste seed bank. In Kiasar, coal waste seed bank had less diversity and richness than that in seed bank of rangelands, but no significant differences were observed between seed bank of coal waste and seed bank of rangeland in Karmozd. Due to the harsh conditions of seed germination and seedling establishment and also low seed density in the seed bank, natural regeneration in coal wastes of these two sites will be a slow process and it needs amendment treatments and the introduction of target plants seeds.