BULLETIN FLORIDA STATE MUSEUM


depth, should resemble unreclaimed spoils in supporting other agricul-
tural and silvicultural uses and native hardwoods. Hence the Kibler site
(Fig. 16), if not mowed, probably would develop a plant and wildlife
community like that on Bartow South (Fig. 12) or Old Clarke James (Fig.
15), differing only in the amount of lake area. Presumably the depth of
the overburden cap and, if shallow, whether underlain by clay waste or
sand, would be important determinants of whether pine plantations or
particular forest types would thrive. Presumably the overburden should
be about 1 m deep to support mesic-adapted trees with diffuse root sys-
tems, like slash pines and water oaks, and deeper for xeric-adapted trees
with taproots, like longleaf pines and live oaks. A subsoil of clay wastes
probably would result in a perched water table, which would affect the
surficial plant community on a relatively shallow cap.
 Our study indicated that dewatered clay waste has only moderate
wildlife value and moderate potential for natural recovery. As active clay
settling ponds, these areas have very high wildlife value as marshes, and
they could be maintained as marshes by proper water level manipula-
tion. However, absorption of water by the clay creates a volume of waste
to be stored that can exceed the volume of mined pits, so at some mines
clay must be stored aboveground, behind dikes. Concern over polluting
clay spills from above-grade ponds prompts efforts to dewater the clay.
Invasion of consolidated clay by willows helps the process, because wil-
lows are phreatophytes with high rates of evapotranspiration. Willows
and the wax myrtles that replace them should enhance soil development
with surface litter and root material, but further succession is not appar-
ent. We found a very old clay waste area on Sanlan Ranch, with native
tree seed sources nearby, that had an open, senescent stand of large red
maple trees scattered in a vine-covered space. Probably the clay waste
areas begin to develop into swamp forests but eventually become too dry
and hard to survive.
 The colloid under the clay crust will not support heavy buildings, so
settling areas cannot be used for residential or industrial development.
The soil is fertile, even in potassium (Hawkins 1979), and has proven
capable of growing pasture grass and row crops. The feasibility of culti-
vating consolidated clay has been demonstrated, but low ground-pres-
sure vehicles must be used. More typically, the clay is capped with sand
tailings and improved pasture is established on the cap soil. Because few
options exist for use of these aboveground lenses of hardening clay, top
priority should be placed on identifying and mandating optimal recla-
mation techniques. With a sand or overburden cap, clay lenses may de-
velop perched water tables and probably would favor the growth of swamp-
adapted trees like slash pines. From the standpoint of wildlife habitat, a
preferable way to use the clay and sand wastes might be to replace rela-


VOL. 30 NO. 3