Amendments and Overburden Placement for Minesoil Productivity Reclamation

摘要

The 1977 Federal Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act was passed to establish a balance among protection of the environment, maintaining agricultural productivity, and the need for coal as an essential source of energy. This research was undertaken to: (a) evaluate glacial till as a plant growth material for restoring productivity; (b) evaluate routine soil tests to predict fertility status of disturbed land; (c) evaluate grass and grass-legume mixtures for reclamation of productivity; and (d) compare water plant filter sludge with agricultural lime for acid minesoil amendment. Glacial till required only P fertilization to restore production of tall fescue, tall fescue plus birdsfoot trefoil, and orchardgrass plus birdsfoot trefoil to the level of production representative of an undisturbed soil. Relative yield, within each forage group, was calculated by using the average of the top 25% individual plot yields as maximum yield. Maximum relative yield of tall fescue was obtained at Bray II soil available P level of 100 ppM P and orchardgrass with 80 ppM P. Fertilizer P requirement necessary to increase the Bray II available P level to the level of maximum yield can be calculated. Productivity of the minesoil was not returned to the level of undisturbed soil during the 2 years of this study. A water plant filter sludge (93.7% CaCO sub 3 equivalent <200 mesh) was more effective in the short term reduction in minesoil acidity than was agricultural lime. Use of the Woodruff buffer system would underestimate potential acidity of recently exposed minesoil, but did adequately measure neutralizable acidity after 12 months of atmosphere and biological exposure. Results from this research point out the importance of material selection for covering the acidic coal overburden to insure a high level of success in returning the productivity of disturbed soil to near that of similar undisturbed soil. 17 references, 6 figures, 4 tables. (ERA citation 09:047354)