Early vegetation cover is an important sign of mine rehabilitation progress, but it does not confirm that the underlying soil and ecosystem will continue to function. A paper presented by Dr Bernhard Wehr at Mine Closure 2026 argues that rehabilitation should also be assessed by its trajectory towards the intended post-mining land use. 

A newly rehabilitated mine site starts from a point of major disturbance. Soil horizons may have been removed or mixed, topsoil may have spent years in stockpiles, and the materials available for reconstruction can differ substantially from the soils supporting nearby reference ecosystems. 

Despite this, rehabilitation performance is often judged through point-in-time comparisons with mature analogue sites. This can create unrealistic expectations about how quickly a manufactured growth medium should resemble natural soil, while providing limited evidence about whether the rehabilitated system is developing in the right direction. 

At Mine Closure 2026 in Melbourne, Verterra Principal Soil Scientist Dr Bernhard Wehr presented a paper proposing a stronger basis for assessment. Building on earlier technical guidance prepared by Verterra for the Office of the Queensland Mine Rehabilitation Commissioner, the 2026 paper argues that rehabilitation trajectories provide more meaningful evidence of progress than condition alone.