Soil Properties and Development of Humus Forms in Pine and Oak Stands of Reclaimed Post-mining Sites in Lusatia: Infl uence of Lignite from Overburden Sediments and Dust Immissions

Although Germany’s output of brown coal has declined signifi cantly in the last 20 years (Statistik der Kohlewirtschaft e.V. 2009; Bundesanstalt für Geologie und Rohstoffe 2009), it is still the leading lignite producer in the world. In 2007, the year for which the most recent data are available, Germany had mined 180 million kg³. Coal mining in Germany is distributed over the three main areas of Rhineland, Central Germany and Lusatia (Bens and Hüttl 2005). The region surrounding the towns of Cottbus and Senftenberg in Lusatia, Eastern Germany, is one of the largest mining areas

GFZ German Research Center for Geosciences, Telegrafenberg, D - 14473 Potsdam, Germany. aEmail: bens@gfz-potsdam.de bEmail: huettl@gfz-potsdam.de *Corresponding author

in Germany. The total mined area is approximately 85,000 ha (Statistik der Kohlewirtschaft e.V. 2009), with an additional 30,000 ha (Vattenfall Europe AG 2009) approved for mining. These former and ongoing mining areas present a tremendous challenge for recultivation (reclamation).