<![CDATA[The results of research on the natural phytomeliorative effectiveness of vegetation cover and the dependence of these processes on the content of chemical elements in edaphic soils in the impact zone of a coal mine spoil tip are presented. It has been established that succession processes occur in areas with a high phytomeliorative effectiveness coefficient (KFM=5.0-5.5), and a biocenotic environment is formed, gradually optimizing the edaphotope and contributing to a gradual increase in fertility due to seasonal precipitation and improvement of the mechanical structure of the soil by developing root systems of plantings. In areas with a low phytomelirative efficiency coefficient (KFM=3.0-3.5), the pioneer stage of succession is slow due to the contamination of edaphotopes with heavy metals and other chemical elements, the concentration of which exceeds the maximum permissible limits in some areas. The elemental composition of edaphic sites was determined based on 18 samples taken from 6 areas. Each sample was analyzed for the content of macro- and microelements: Mg, Al, Si, P, S, K, Ca, Ti, V, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, Sr, Y, Zr, and Pb. Among the microelements, the highest average concentrations were found for iron (Fe = 1.27·104 mg/kg) and manganese (Mn = 370 mg/kg), while nickel (Ni = 24 mg/kg) and copper (Cu = 21 mg/kg) had the lowest. The presence of local spots with high concentrations of Pb and Zn may be due to sulfide phases (e.g., galena or sphalerite) in the tailings. The average lead content (25.8 mg/kg) is 86% of the permissible limit (30 mg/kg), which is an alarming sign of possible exceedance in individual samples. Vanadium (145 mg/kg) almost reaches the permissible limit (150 mg/kg). Together with the elevated sulfur content, this may indicate the presence of pyrite and other sulfide minerals. It should be noted that the maximum values in the sample significantly exceed the average: for example, zinc reaches 377 mg/kg (126% of the MPC), and lead – 36.9 mg/kg (123% of the MPC). This means that local sampling points may be heavily contaminated and require phytomelioration and recultivation efforts to reduce the impact on human health in the coal mining area.]]>
