Construction of remains of small-scale mining activities as a possible innovative way how to prevent desertification

Initial mapping of secondary succession in places disturbed by mining of the Khan Khentii Strictly Protected Area in Mongolia shows a possible innovative direction taken by afforestation in order to prevent further expansion of the Gobi Desert in northern Mongolia. The study results from the knowledge of secondary succession of mined areas, which are classified as the remains and consequences of prospecting and mining work dated to the Soviet times. Ongoing succession on sites affected by mining is very slow. In quarry dumps and canavas, herb layer has not been recovered despite the fact that the prospecting and mining activities had finished more than 30 years ago. Herbs biodiversity is very poor in these areas. Conversely, representatives of the tree layer, especially Larix sibirica and Populus tremula, are found far from the continuous forest; they colonized sites located within the aridized steppe. We assume that the main factor of successful tree growth on the mining activities remains consists in the humidity condensation due to and caused by the specific shape of the canavas and dumps. Trees prosperity on these extreme habitats can be ensured particularly in the early stages of growth when the tree roots are unable to reach the groundwater table. Detail mapping of quantitative and qualitative parameters of trees shows that the dump is an ideal shape of self-watering condensation mound for forest growth and can prevent the desertification as well.