A REVIEW ON IMPACT OF COAL MINING ON SOIL PROPERTIES AND RECLAMATION BY ORGANIC AMENDMENTSPoonam Poonia, Ram Prasad Choudhary and Sangeeta PariharAbstract Coal is one of the most abundant fossil fuel on earth which is involved in the production of power and energy all over the world. Coal mining process generates abundance of mined spoils and waste rocks which oxidizes under atmospheric conditions and releases metal-loaded effluents to the water bodies and soil. These effluents degrade physical, chemical and microbiological quality of soil and, in turn, create threat to human being and ecosystem. New cost effective and environment friendly strategies are needed to restore the disturbed coal mine soil. Therefore, using the organic amendments for the soil restoration may provide such opportunity to reclaim the degraded soil. Organic amendments such as manures, biosolids, pulp, paper, mill sludges, agriculture/crop residues, food processing waste etc. improve the fertility status and biological activity of degraded soil and decrease restoration cost in eco-friendly manner. The objective of this paper is to review the impact of coal mining on soil physico-chemical and biological properties of mined degraded land. This paper also reviews the role of organic amendments in soil reclamation of mine spoils. |