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<br />16 • <br />If this sort of information is available, one can honestly assess the pros- <br />pects for successfiil reestablishment of viable self-sustaining plant cover <br />than can change naturally through a series of successional co~nunities <br />toward those native communities best able to use available energy under <br />the restrictions of expectable natural stresses. It is wise to remember <br />the basic thermodynamic principle and biologic axiom that one Cann.4t simul- <br />taneously maximize both sra~;ty_ nd ; ro ,~r-riv' in natural systems. The <br />natural diversity of native seral ecosystems provides for best utilization <br />of available niches throughout the range of all the highly diverse stress <br />conditions that typify high northern great plains continental climates. <br />Ground cover can be treater with_artificial plant coirnmmities but such <br />slwuld not be the goal of sound reclamation since such artificial communities <br />do not have the resiliency and~daptability to be able to insure some nutrient <br />cycling and some ground cover under stress conditions such as prolonged <br />drought or insect infestation without reintervention by man long_aft~r poli- <br />tical and social resnonsibilitiec fir reclamation have ended. <br />With adequate geologic, soil chemistry, plant ecology', and soil ecology <br />data, one cannot only assess possibilities for reclamation through various <br />mining plan options, but one can determine a specific soil handling and <br />reconstruction plan. It is possible to simulate a wide range of stress con- <br />ditions in greenhouse or growth chamber conditions and to field-test various <br />reclamation options so that only a short period of time is necessary for <br />emperical evaluation of theoretical options. One of many drawbacks to <br />