Pedogenesis problems on reclaimed coal mining sites

Marko Spasić, Luboš Borůvka, Oldřich Vacek, Ondřej Drábek and Václav Tejnecký
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Marko Spasić: Department of Soil Science and Soil Protection, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, Czech Republic
Luboš Borůvka: Department of Soil Science and Soil Protection, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, Czech Republic
Oldřich Vacek: Department of Soil Science and Soil Protection, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, Czech Republic
Ondřej Drábek: Department of Soil Science and Soil Protection, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, Czech Republic
Václav Tejnecký: Department of Soil Science and Soil Protection, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, Czech Republic

Soil and Water Research, 2021, vol. 16, issue 3, 137-150

Abstract: Open-cast coal mining presents a big global issue because of the large areas the mines occupy, which get entirely changed. Their ecosystems lose most of their functions, and a huge amount of fertile soil gets utterly destroyed. Reclamation is a process of returning the functions of the soil after the excavation is finished, most commonly achieved by establishing vegetation, which can sometimes be very difficult. This happens due to the physical, chemical and biological changes that occur on these sites, which are described in this paper. Also, some directions for mitigating these problems are given. Once the vegetation is successfully introduced, natural cycles that were compromised by the mining are established once again, and the process of soil formation begins. Some trends and problems related to pedogenesis research on reclaimed mine sites are presented and discussed, along with presumptions of how the process of soil formation evolves on afforested clayey Technosols of central Europe. The potential future research which would confirm these presumptions is discussed, with the emphasis on the need of research performed on older reclamation sites, as well as sites with similar ecological conditions and different tree species cover.

Keywords: biodiversity; coal; mining; natural succession; pedogenesis; reclamation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:caa:jnlswr:v:16:y:2021:i:3:id:163-2020-swr

DOI: 10.17221/163/2020-SWR

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