Topsoil brims with worms, microorganisms, and organic matter.
Mining companies face a similar problem when reclaiming strip-mined Western rangeland.
New research points to a way to give their efforts a better chance of success. While rangeland vegetation like sagebrush may look tough, it's delicate. The plants need all the help they can get from the soil. Mining companies, he notes, typically salvage and store topsoil as long as several years. They put it back only after they finish mining a site.