Changes of Water Budget during Ecosystem Development in Post-Mining Sites at Various Spatiotemporal Scales: The Need for Controlled Systems

Research highlights: (1) Ecosystem development assessed in an afforested post-mining site. (2) Soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (TN) stock reached close to the reference forest site after 25 years of afforestation. (3) Integrated mine soil quality index is developed to assess the reclamation success. Background and Objectives: Estimation of the mine soil quality is one of the most important criterions for evaluating the reclamation success and restoration of novel ecosystems of the post-industrial degraded lands. The aim of this long-term experiment was to investigate the influence of revegetation on Technosol (defined as anthropogenic soil resulted from reclamation of mine spoil materials) as the basic ecosystem development. Materials and Methods: A field study was carried out in the chronosequence afforested post-mining sites (5, 10, 25 years) and compared with natural forest site. We assessed the physicochemical properties and nutrient stock of mine soil and estimated general mine soil quality by using an integrated mine soil quality index (IMSQI). The studies were fully randomized in the chronosequence of afforested post-mining sites. Results: Nutrient dynamics and soil properties (physicochemical and biological) were recovered with the increase age of reclamation. Soil organic carbon (SOC) stock significantly increased from 9.11 Mg C ha−1 in 5 years to 41.37 Mg C ha−1 after 25 years of afforestation. Likewise, total nitrogen (TN) stock significantly increased from 1.06 Mg N ha−1 in 5 years to 4.45 Mg N ha−1 after 25 years of revegetation. Ecosystem carbon pool enhanced at a rate of 6.2 Mg C ha−1 year−1. A Principal Component Analysis (PCA)-based IMSQ index was employed to assess the reclamation success. The most influential properties controlling the health of reclaimed coal mine soil are fine earth fraction, moisture content, SOC and dehydrogenase activity. IMSQ index values are validated with vegetation characteristics. The estimated IMSQI ranged from 0.455 in 5-year-old (RMS5) to 0.746 in 25-year-old reclaimed dump (RMS25). Conclusions: A 25-year-old reclaimed dump having greater IMSQI (0.746) than reference forest soils (0.695) suggested the aptness of revegetation to retrieve soil quality and function in derelict mine land.

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Distribution of anthropogenic mercury in French Guyana river sediments downstream from gold mining sites

Journal de Physique IV (Proceedings) ◽

10.1051/jp4:20030530 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 107 ◽

pp. 1263-1266 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

L. Spadini ◽

L. Charlet

Keyword(s):

Gold Mining ◽

River Sediments ◽

Mining Sites ◽

French Guyana

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Water Budget Triangle: A New Conceptual Framework for Comparison of Green and Gray Infrastructure

ICSI 2014 ◽

10.1061/9780784478745.095 ◽

2014 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

C. G. Eger ◽

D. G. Chandler ◽

B. Kasaee Roodsari ◽

C. I. Davidson ◽

C. T. Driscoll

Keyword(s):

Conceptual Framework ◽

Water Budget

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An Exploratory Study for Health Ecosystem Development for Young Adults Living Alone

Korean System Dynamics Review ◽

10.32588/ksds.19.4.4 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 19 (4) ◽

pp. 83-98

Author(s):

HyeMin Byun ◽

EunKyoung Yun ◽

NamHe Choi ◽

Jisun Choi ◽

Juhee Kim ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Young Adults ◽

Exploratory Study ◽

Living Alone ◽

Ecosystem Development

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Water Budget of Constructed Wetland System with Subsurface Vertical Flow in Sub-Humid Tropical Climate

Modern Environmental Science and Engineering ◽

10.15341/mese(2333-2581)/05.01.2015/004 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 1 (5) ◽

pp. 235-242

Author(s):

Édio Damásio da Silva Júnior ◽

Rogério de Araújo Almeida ◽

Elisa Rodrigues Siqueira ◽

Ábio Roduvalho da Silva

Keyword(s):

Constructed Wetland ◽

Water Budget ◽

Tropical Climate ◽

Vertical Flow ◽

Humid Tropical Climate ◽

Wetland System

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