Ornamental Plant Cultivation Using Vermiculite-Lizardite Mining Waste in the Industrial Zone of the Subarctic

In this study, we discuss the possibility of cultivation of ornamental plants on vermiculite-lizardite wastes in the zone impacted by the operation of copper-nickel smelter (Monchegorsk, Murmansk region). The overburdened rocks of phlogopite ores’ deposit (Murmansk region, Russia), composed mainly of vermiculite and lizardite minerals, were used as substrate for plant growth. In all, 23 plant species of ornamental plants (predominantly succulents, Crassulaceae) were planted as seedlings in the 10 cm thick layer of mining waste. The multiplication factor of the most ornamental species reached 17. In the case of some succulents (Saxifraga spp., Primula minima L., Sedum acre L.), this factor was 232. Intensive self-propagation of Sagina saginoides (L.) Karst has been noted. The development of Viscaria alpina Bemh. from the seeds formed in the first year of the experiment was described. Obtained technique can be used for greening of northern cities, including lands near industrial facilities.