Suitability of soils developed on the basis of black coal ash as a forest habitat

The aim of the study was to evaluate the usefulness as a forest habitat, the technogenic soils developed by applying overlays containing organic matter in the waste substances, onto the layer of black coal ash. Properties of these soils, located in the power plant “Dolna Odra” in Nowe Czarnowo (West-Pomeranian province), were studied in 2015, i.e. 13 years after founding the experiment upon the use of waste materials in soilless land reclamation. Analysis required samples from the ash overlays and bottoms of the soils, in which applying methods commonly used in soil science, following properties were determined to enable calculation of the indicators used in the evaluation: forest soil trophism index (FSTI), soil site index (SSI), and mine soil quality index (MSQI). Values of FSTI allowed for classify studied soils as forest habitats, values of SSI as mixed forests and forest habitats, and values of MSQI as mixed forest habitats.