Ecosystem development on a titanium dioxide residue pond after five years in Capel, Western Australia

Abstract

Rehabilitation with native plant species of an experimental titanium dioxide residue containment pond on dune swales at Capel, Western Australia was undertaken in 1990. The treated residue comprised unreacted ilmenite, coking coal, metal hydroxides, gypsum and lime inerts, and titanium dioxide. It was an inert, insoluble, non-toxic, clay-like material. This paper describes the growth and establishment of terrestrial vegetation in the residue material after five years and its associated symbiotic root fungi and ant communities. The total number of plant species present after five years was comparable to a nearby Eucalyptus gomphocephala woodland and dune vegetation. Vegetation cover was simil..