HVO 2009 Annual Environmental Management Report - Final

Coal & Allied – Hunter Valley Operations
5.2.9 Vegetation Species and Establishment
Pasture and tree species may be sown either into topsoil or directly into spoil emplacements without topsoil,
generally in Spring or Autumn (depending on rainfall). Pasture seed is mixed with fertiliser and spread from a
tractor-mounted broadcaster working along contours where possible for uniform seed distribution. Tree seed
is generally mixed with kitty litter and spread from a tractor-mounted broadcaster and may use a cover crop of
oats or millet.
The selected final land use is:
Class IV land capability;
Pastures – mainly cattle grazing, with a mixture of sown pastures and tree belts.
Native woodland tree areas – using local tree seed when available.
Class I and II land capability;
Irrigated lucerne production required to demonstrate compliance of the Alluvial Lands Re-instatement
Area.
The land use is compatible with the surrounding landscape and equivalent to pre-mining land use.
Current rehabilitation practices aim for a landscape with improved grazing capability and approximately 60 to
70 per cent of the area sown to either improved or native pastures. The remainder of the rehabilitation is sown
to native tree species. Areas that were rehabilitated during the reporting period were planted with a variety of
grass and tree species. Areas that were rehabilitated during the reporting period were planted with a variety of
grasses and tree species. Local native grass, shrub and tree species are mostly used in the sowing and
planting of rehabilitated areas, but exotic pasture species are also used. All of the sites rehabilitated during
the reporting period have been planted into available topsoil.
Pasture and tree species listed in Table 61 and Table 62 have previously been successfully used for
rehabilitation. These pasture species are generally used for initial re-vegetation and are sown at an
application rate of approximately 45 to 50 kilograms (total seed mix) per hectare. Pioneer Rhodes Grass has
been removed from the pasture mix due to its tendency to dominate pasture areas. The diversity of the
tree/shrub seed mix has been increased in 2009 and non-native species have been removed i.e. Eucalyptus
cladocalyx (Sugar gum).
AEMR 2009 177