Abstract
Water regime, throughfall, stemflow, soil water storage, subsurface runoff, and meteorological parameters were studied during 2 years (2011-2012) in 2 reclaimed and 2 unreclaimed post-mining sites near Sokolov (Czech Republic). All sites were 25-35 years old, covered by woody vegetation, and developed on the same overburden consisting of tertiary clays.
Interception of water by vegetation was about one third of precipitation in both reclaimed and unreclaimed sites; stemflow also did not differ significantly between sites and represented less than 10% of interception. Both reclaimed and unreclaimed sites have stable amount of soil water in the soil profile independent of precipitation, but water storage in reclaimed sites was significantly higher.
The results suggest that after 25-35 years, there is no major difference in water budget of reclaimed and unreclaimed sites that develop by unassisted natural succession.