Soil water dynamics: hydrologic and management interactions

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Capping materials (such as topsoil placed over stockpiles) are often used to protect the environment (usually soil, air and water) from exposure to potentially hazardous waste materials. Capping materials serve as a substrate for revegetation, to further protect the environment. In numerous reclamation scenarios, appropriate capping depth is a key question that has profound environmental and economic implications. Regulators generally desire maximum capping depths to reduce potential environmental impacts while industry desires minimum depths to reduce reclamation costs. There is a general perception among regulators and the scientific community that greater depths are better. My preliminary research indicates that this is not the case; depths too great can diminish the amount of soil water available to plants as it may pass beyond the root zone.