Ecological restoration of coal mine degraded soils across arid and semi-arid environments worldwide remains particularly challenging. We used a combination of greenhouse and field experiments to assess the potential role of a woody species, Ulmus pumila, in the restoration of degraded soils associated with coal-mining activities in the northwest China. We investigated how various combinations of water-nitrogen-phosphorus (W-N-P) resources affect multiple growth parameters in U. pumila. We found that several plant growth traits significantly improved with W-N applications, regardless of P inputs. Moderate-to-highest W-N-P doses increased net photosynthesis and transpiration rates, water use efficiency, stomatal conductance, chlorophyll and carotenoid contents under greenhouse conditions. A combination of high W together with low N-P applications led to high relative water content and net photosynthetic rates under field conditions. Increasing of N-P doses under W-shortage condition, aided U. pumila to enhance osmotic adjustments by increasing contents of proline and soluble sugar and also boost the activity of superoxide dismutase, peroxidase and catalase in leaf tissues to reduce accumulation of reactive oxygen species and malondialdehyde content in all conditions of greenhouse and field. Our study is the first to assess the optimum W-N-P resources in U. pumila and demonstrate that optimum growth performance could be obtained under W supplements corresponding to 90 mm year-1, N and P at 110 and 45 kg ha-1, respectively, under field condition. These findings can have far reaching implications for vegetation restoration of degraded areas associated with coal-mining activities across arid and semi-arid regions worldwide.
Keywords: Coal mine spoils; Nutrient fertilization; Ulmus pumila; Vegetation restoration; Water shortage.
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