ABSTRACT
A basic feature allowing the distinguishing between soil and soilless formations is the larger content of organic matter (OM) in soil. Soilless formations contain <10 Mg OM ha−1, while soils have from 18 to >200 Mg ha−1. One of the main purposes of the reclamation of spoil dumps, slag heaps and decantation ponds is creating conditions that allow for the introduction and survival of selected plant species, the development of which affects the dynamics of many processes leading to soil formation. The outer layers of the spoil dumps, slag heaps and decantation ponds predominantly consist of soilless formations, characterised by the lack or a little of natural nutrients necessary for the development of microorganisms and higher plants.This negative feature requires new methods of reclamation to provide adequate nutrients for the fast development of vegetation and, in turn, to accumulate and leave more nutrients/OM and systematically improve the soil. Converting soilless formations into soils with positive features is a long-term process, estimated at several centuries in the soil sciences; only after this period can soil science criteria be justifiably used (Jenny 1980). In the period of soil formation, there are no unambiguous methods for assessing the dynamic changes connected with a proper course of reclamation.
