Composted Municipal Green Waste Enhances Tree Success in Opencast Coal Land Reclamation in Wales

A controlled trial over 11 years found that composted municipal green waste (MGW) did not significantly improve tree height or diameter at breast height (DBH) but had contrasting effects on survival rates of three tree species in degraded opencast coal land near the UNESCO World Heritage site Blaenavon Industrial Landscape, Wales. While Common Alder showed the highest overall survival without MGW treatment, Silver Birch and European Larch exhibited significantly higher survival when treated with composted MGW (40% food waste and 60% garden waste). This suggests potential species-specific benefits of MGW in land reclamation efforts, despite its limited impact on growth metrics.

Haigh, M., Desai, M., Cullis, M., D’Aucourt, M., Sansom, B., Wilding, G., Alun, E., Garate, S., Hatton, L., Kilmartin, M., Panhuis, W., & Jenkins, R. (2019). Composted Municipal Green Waste Enhances Tree Success in Opencast Coal Land Reclamation in Wales. Air, Soil and Water Research, 12. https://doi.org/10.1177/1178622119877837