title: Soil quality index for evaluation of reclaimed coal mine spoil.
abstract: Success in the remediation of mine spoil depends largely on the selection of appropriate tree species. The impacts of remediation on mine soil quality cannot be sufficiently assessed by individual soil properties. However, combination of soil properties into an integrated soil quality index provides a more holistic status of reclamation potentials of tree species. Remediation potentials of four tree species (Acacia auriculiformis, Cassia siamea, Dalbergia sissoo, and Leucaena leucocephala) were studied on reclaimed coal mine overburden dumps of Jharia coalfield, Dhanbad, India. Soil samples were collected under the canopies of the tree species. Comparative studies on the properties of soils in the reclaimed and the reference sites showed improvements in soil quality parameters of the reclaimed site: coarse fraction (-20.4%), bulk density (-12.8%), water holding capacity (+0.92%), pH (+25.4%), EC (+2.9%), cation exchange capacity (+46.6%), organic carbon (+91.5%), N (+60.6%), P (+113%), K (+19.9%), Ca (+49.6%), Mg (+12.2%), Na (+19.6%), S (+46.7%), total polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (-71.4%), dehydrogenase activity (+197%), and microbial biomass carbon (+115%). Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to identify key mine soil quality indicators to develop a soil quality index (SQI). Selected indicators include: coarse fraction, pH, EC, soil organic carbon, P, Ca, S, and dehydrogenase activity. The indicator values were converted into a unitless score (0-1.00) and integrated into SQI. The calculated SQI was significantly (P<0.001) correlated with tree biomass and canopy cover. Reclaimed site has 52-93% higher SQI compared to the reference site. Higher SQI values were obtained for sites reclaimed with D.sissoo (+93.1%) and C.siamea (+86.4%).
authors.affiliation: Environmental Management Division, CSIR - Central Institute of Mining and Fuel Research (Digwadih Campus), Dhanbad 828108, India.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mukhopadhyay
authors.affiliation: Environmental Management Division, CSIR - Central Institute of Mining and Fuel Research (Digwadih Campus), Dhanbad 828108, India. Electronic address: mastocfri@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: R E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Masto
authors.affiliation: Environmental Management Division, CSIR - Central Institute of Mining and Fuel Research (Digwadih Campus), Dhanbad 828108, India; Department of Civil Engineering, Institute of Engineering & Technology, Sitapur Road, Lucknow 226001, UP, India.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yadav
authors.affiliation: Environmental Management Division, CSIR - Central Institute of Mining and Fuel Research (Digwadih Campus), Dhanbad 828108, India.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: George
authors.affiliation: Environmental Management Division, CSIR - Central Institute of Mining and Fuel Research (Digwadih Campus), Dhanbad 828108, India.
authors.forename: L C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Ram
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil Engineering, Institute of Engineering & Technology, Sitapur Road, Lucknow 226001, UP, India.
authors.forename: S P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Shukla
mesh_terms: D003032:Coal Mining; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D007194:India; D012037:Refuse Disposal; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry*; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D012987:Soil; D012989:Soil Pollutants
keywords: Indicator; Mine spoil; Reclamation; Soil quality index