Eco-restoration of a high-sulphur coal mine overburden

dumping site in northeast India: A case study

J Dowarah1, H P Deka Boruah1,∗, J Gogoi1 , N Pathak1, N Saikia1 and A K Handique2

1
Biotechnology Division, North-East Institute of Science & Technology, CSIR, Jorhat 785 006, Assam, India.
2
Biotechnology Department, Gauhati University, Guwahati 781 014, Assam, India.
∗
e-mail: [email protected] [email protected]

Eco-restoration of mine overburden (OB) or abandoned mine sites is a major environmental

concern. In the present investigation, an integrated approach was used to rejuvenate a high-sulphur
mine OB dumping site in the Tirap Collieries, Assam, India, which is situated in the Indo-Burma
mega-biodiversity hotspot. A mine OB is devoid of true soil character with poor macro and micro-
nutrient content and contains elevated concentrations of trace and heavy metals. Planting of herbs,
shrubs, cover crops and tree species at close proximity leads to primary and secondary sere state
succession within a period of 3 to 5 years. A variety of plant species were screened for potential use
in restoration: herbs, including Sccharum spontaneum, Cymbopogon winterianus Jowitt (citronella),
and Cymbopogon flexuosus (lemon grass) cover plants, including Mimosa strigillosa, M. striata,
and M. pigra; shrubs, including Sesbania rostrata (dhaincha) and Cassia streata (cassia); and
tree species, including Gmelina arborea (gomari) and Dalbergia sissoo (sissoo). Amendment with
unmined soil and bio-organic matter was required for primary establishment of some plant species.
Management of these plant species at the site will ensure long term sustainable eco-restoration of
the coal mine-degraded land.

1. Introduction overcome by artificial interventions, that once iden-

tified, which are most successful if they use or
The dumping of mine tailings and other reject mimic natural process (Dobson et al 1997).
materials (referred to as overburden, OB) gener- Traditionally, mines are the sole mineral sup-
ated from opencast coal or metal mines is consi- ply source, and exploration for coal is con-
dered as a major contributor to the ecological and ducted without giving much regard to its serious
environmental degradation (Cherfas 1992; Chaoji impacts on the ecology and environment. There-
2002; Ghose 2004; Deka Boruah et al 2008). OB fore, the coal mining industry is being placed
materials are nutrient-poor, loosely adhered par- under the red category, meaning it is in the
ticles of shale, stones, boulders, cobbles, and so top bracket of environmental degradation (Chaoji
forth and are devoid of true soil character (Raju 2002), and coal mining is being considered for
and Hassan 2003; Deka Boruah 2006; Gogoi et al inclusion under the national superfund scheme.
2007). Mine OB materials also contain elevated The chief environmental impacts due to mining are
concentrations of trace metals. Consequently, eco- changes in soil stratification, reduced biotic diver-
logical succession in a mine OB is a lengthy sity, and alteration of structure and functioning
process. A minimum period of 50 years to a cen- of ecosystems; these changes ultimately influence
tury is required to establish advanced specific plant water and nutrient dynamics and trophic inter-
species in denuded, mine OB-filled land; but this actions (Matson et al 1997; Almas et al 2004;
long time scales due to specific problems can be Ghose 2004).

Keywords. Mine overburden; environment degradation; ecology; eco-restoration; primary, secondary ecological succession.

J. Earth Syst. Sci. 118, No. 5, October 2009, pp. 597–608

© Printed in India. 597
598 J Dowarah et al

The remediation of soil that is heavily contami-

nated due to coal or metal mining involves exca-
vation, removal of soil to secured land fields, and
filling of top soil, which is expensive and requires
site restoration. Alternatively, the contaminated
soil may be dealt with bioremediation or phytore-
mediation, which is the use of plants or other bio-
logical measures to remove, destroy or sequester
hazardous substances from the soil and waste piles
(Salt et al 1995; Cunningham and Ow 1996; Ernst
1996). An account of specific plant species that
have been used to combat different types of soil
pollution has been given by Prasasd (2004). How-
ever, restoration of mine waste piles depends on the
substrate characteristics and ability of the plant Figure 1. Location map of the eco-restoration site drawn
species to proliferate in the substratum. with the help of generic mapping tools. Open stars indicate
the sampling point of mine OB.
In India, the amount of mine OB wasteland gen-
erated due to opencast coal mining is enormous.
Presently, the north eastern coalfields of Coal India At each sampling location, 10 to 15 cores of the top
Limited (NECF-CIL), Margherita, Assam, have 8 cm of substrate were collected at random. Com-
produced more than 1000 ha of mine OB waste- posite samples were prepared by thoroughly mixing
land. Reports are also available on the prospects these samples as per IS specifications, and the pre-
and environmental issues related to the north east pared bulk samples were stored at 4◦ C. Biochemi-
(NE) collieries (Akala 1995; Chaoji 2002). Due to cal analysis of the substrates was performed within
the presence of high sulphur content (2–12%), the seven days of sampling.
mine OB of the NE collieries is highly acidic (pH
2.0–3.0) (Deka Boruah et al 2008). Consequently, 2.2 Physico-chemical and biochemical
ecological succession takes even longer. characterisation
Though there are many success stories of eco-
restoration around the world (Cunningham and The pH of 50% (w/v) soil and OB materials was
Berti 1993; Mendez and Maier 2008; Gonzalez and determined using an automatic glass electrode pH
Gonzalez-Chavez 2006; Wong 2003), and in differ- meter, Systronics, Model 8330. Total carbon con-
ent parts of the country (Tiwary 2001; Pal 2003; tent was determined by potassium dichromate oxi-
Ghose 2004; Maiti 2007; Juwarkar and Jumbalkar dation, and total nitrogen content by Kjeldahl
2008), to date no attempt is being made to reme- digestion. The particle size of mine tailings and
diate mine OB dumps in the NE region of India shale was determined in air dried samples by sieve
by utilising native plant species. This investigation analysis. Since 99% of the uncontaminated soil
sought to achieve eco-restoration of a high-sulphur is contained in the < 0.355 mm fraction, unmined
containing coal mine OB dumping site through soils were not subjected for sieve analysis. The
primary and secondary ecological succession of percentage of the total content of silt, sand and
plants. Emphasis was given to the physico-chemical clays were analysed for < 0.355 mm fractions by
characteristics of the mine OB waste, planting laser diffraction particle size analyser, CILAS 100,
methodology, amendment of organic matter and Switzerland.
establishment of the plant species. The entire For sieve analyses, the mine OB was thoroughly
in situ experiment was conducted in the Tirap mixed as per IS specifications, and representa-
opencast coal mine overburden dumping site in tive samples of 1 kg each were passed through
Assam. different sieve sizes ranging from > 25 mm to
< 0.355 mm. The composition of silt, sand and clay
was determined in the 0.355 mm size fractions by
2. Materials and methods laser diffraction particle size analyser. To verify the
maximum ability of the mine tailings to release
2.1 Description of the site and collection finer particles, mine OB samples were also mixed
of soil samples with water (1:3 = material:water; 40 rpm, 3 h) in
a 5 kg pot mill. The liberation of finer particles
Samples of tailings were collected from the such as clay and silt will give an idea of the extent
site according to IS specifications (436–1953). of degradation that could result due to long-term
A detailed description and visual characteristics of weathering of these materials in this highly rainy
the site are described in figure 1, plate 1A and B. region.
 Eco-restoration of a high-sulphur coal mine overburden dumping site in northeast India 599

Plate 1. Mine OB dumping ground of Tirap opencast colliery, Assam, India. A, B = Before remediation of mine OB;
C, D = After remediation of mine OB dumping site.

Microbial biomass carbon was determined by the Phosphatase enzyme activity was determined
chloroform-fumigation method, using 0.5 M K2 SO4 by incubation at 37◦ C in phosphate buffer
for extraction (Vance 2000). The organic C content (pH 5.0) with p-nitrophenyl phosphate as the
was estimated by oxidation with potassium dichro- substrate. After 30 min CaCl2 was added (to
mate. The difference in C content between the stop the reaction and to avoid coloration caused
fumigated and non-fumigated soil was converted by organic and other matter), and the released
to microbial biomass C (expressed in mg kg−1 of p-nitrophenol was measured with a spectro-
oven dried soil) by applying a KC factor of 0.45 photometer at 570 nm (Tabatabai and Bremner
(Jenkinson 2004). 1969). β-glucosidase activity was determined as
The serial dilution technique was used to deter- described for phosphatase activity except that the
mine the most probable number (MPN) of micro- substrate was p-nitrophenyl-β-D-glucopyrenoside
organisms as described by Alexander (1965). The and the incubation time was 1 h. Both phos-
presence of nitrogen fixing bacteria was deter- phatase and β-glucosidase activities were quan-
mined using the medium developed by Bezbaruah tified using a standard curve prepared from p-
et al (1995). Chemolithotrophic sulphur oxidisers nitrophenol, and are expressed in p-nitrophenol
present in coalmine tailings and unmined soil released in μmol g−1 h−1 . The dehydrogenase activ-
were grown using thiosulphate agar medium. For ity of the soil was determined according to
the enumeration of cellulose degraders, Skinner Camina et al (1998) and quantified using an
medium (1971) was used. Nutrient agar (Hi-media) iodonitro tetrazolium formazon (INTF) calibra-
was used to estimate the population density of tion curve and expressed in μmol g−1 h−1 . The ure-
heterotrophic bacteria. A colony counter was used ase activity of the soil was determined according
to assess the total microbe count. to Bezbaruah et al (1995), and the values
600 J Dowarah et al
Table 1. Vernacular plant species screened and their nature.
Sl. no. Name Nature Class Family
1 Bambosa Herbs, perennial Monocot Poaceae
2 Elephant grass Herbs, perennial Monocot Poaceae
3 Saccharum spontaneum Herbs, perennial Monocot Poaceae
4 Auxonopus Herbs, perennial Monocot Poaceae
5 Cymbopogon winterianus Herbs, perennial Monocot Poaceae
6 C. flexosus Herbs, perennial Monocot Poaceae
7 Commelina Herbs, perennial Monocot Commelinaceae
8 Cyperus Herbs, perennial Monocot Cyperaceae
9 Draecena Herbs, perennial Monocot Dracenaceae
10 Musa paradisiaca Rhizomatous, Monocot Musaceae
monocarpic
11 Eclipta alba Herbs, annual Dicot Asteraceae
12 Ageratum Semi woody herbs, Dicot Asteraceae
annual
13 Amaranthus Annual herb Dicot Amaranthaceae
14 Solanum sp Herbs Dicot Solanaceae
15 Ricinus communis Shrubs, annual to Dicot Euphorbiaceae
perennial
16 Croton Shrubs, perennial Dicot Euphorbiaceae
17 Cassia streata Shrubs, perennial Dicot Caesalpiniaceae
18 Cassia fistula Shrubs, perennial Dicot Caesalpiniaceae
19 Caesalpania pulcherima Tree, perennial Dicot Caesalpiniaceae
20 Cassia coronj Shrubs, perennial Dicot Caesalpiniaceae
21 Sesbania rostrata Lianes, annual Dicot Leguminosae
22 Mimosa pigra Lianes, annual Dicot Fabaceae
M. pudica Lianes, annual Dicot Fabaceae
M. strigillosa Lianes, annual Dicot Fabaceae
M. streata Tree, perennial Dicot Fabaceae
23 Albizia lebbeck Tree, perennial Dicot Fabaceae
22 Dalbergia sisso Lianes, annual Dicot Leguminosae
23 Evolvulas Tree, perennial Dicot Convolvulaceae
24 Dipterocarpus Tree, perennial Dicot Dipterocarpaceae
25 Shorea robusta Tree, perennial Dicot Dipterocarpaceae
26 Tectona grandis Tree, perennial Dicot Verbenaceae
27 Gmelina arborea Tree, perennial Dicot Verbenaceae
28 Termenellia arjuna Tree, perennial Dicot Combretaceae
29 T. chebulla Tree, perennial Dicot Combretaceae
30 Mellia azadiracta Tree, perennial Dicot Maliaceae
31 Ficus bengalensis Tree, perennial Dicot Maliaceae
32 Delonix regia Tree, perennial Dicot Fabaceae
33 Eggle marmelos Tree, perennial Dicot Rutaceae
34 Michelia champaca Etc Tree, perennial Dicot Magnoliaceae
All the plant species screened were vernacular plant and abundant in the neighbouring unmined site.

were expressed as μmol g−1 h−1 of thiocyanate for the metals Cd, Co, Cu, Cr and Pb in acid
released. extract (Perkin Elmer Analyst 100) with the detec-
Total metal content associated in the composite tion limit of 0.05 mg L−1 to 0.10 mg l−1 while Hg
material of mine OB and in the mine < 0.355 mm was determined in mercury hydride systems model
size fraction were analysed by atomic absorp- MHS10. Al, Fe, Ca, Mn and S were determined
tion spectrophotometer (AAS) and X-ray fluo- by X-ray fluorescence ED-XRF (P) photometer
rescence spectrophotometry (XRF). For this the model, Xepos (Model: SPELLMANXRM 50P50-
composite materials and < 0.355 mm grain size X3385; S/N: 054811-1-1065). The instrument was
was ground to < 200 mm. It was then analysed calibrated by solid and liquid standard provided by
by atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS) spectro. Detection limits of the individual elements
 Eco-restoration of a high-sulphur coal mine overburden dumping site in northeast India 601

amending with unmined soil and cowdung. Both

line and fill methods were used to prepare the
pits. Saplings grown without preparing the pit
were considered controls. The ecological succession
rate, i.e., population growth rate, diversity of plant
species, vegetation structure, plant height, canopy
size and ecological processes was recorded in the
first and second year of restoration following stan-
dard ecological methods (Misrhra 1992).

2.4 Growth rate over time

The population growth rate for the study area

was calculated according to the following for-
mula (Mishra 1992): Population growth rate/new
seedling/tiller generation = ΔN/Δt where Δ
(delta) means change in N = (N2 − N1 ) the num-
ber of organisms, and change in time = t(t2 − t1 ).
where ΔN n is production of new individuals in the
population and specific mortality rate is expressed
as % of initial population dying within a given
time.
Measures of community structure, including den-
sity, frequency, abundance, relative dominance,
and relative frequency of the restored sites
were assessed by quadrate. The minimum size of
the quadrate (60 × 60 cm) was determined by the
species area curve method (Sharma 1995).

2.5 Statistics

All the data were subjected to one way ANOVA

analysis, and significant differences were calculated
Figure 2. Grain size distribution of the overburden mate- at p < 0.01 and p < 0.05.
rials collected from Tirap collieries by sieve analysis.

3. Results
ranged between 0.0003 and 0.15% for solid and
between 1 and 100 ng cm2 in liquid samples. Pel- 3.1 Physico-chemical and biochemical
lets were prepared by mixing 4 g of powder with characteristics
0.9 g of Hoechst wax in a homogenizer (Swing Mill
MM301) and then pressed in a manual hydraulic The study site is situated between latitude 27◦ 28
press with 10 tones. to 28◦ 30 and longitude 94◦ 40 to 95◦ 80 in Assam,
India, which is one of the locations of Indo-Burma
2.3 In situ eco-restoration mega-biodiversity (figure 1). The heaviest rainfall
was recorded from May to October, and the maxi-
A series of preliminary experiments were per- mum temperatures occurred from June to October
formed to screen the plant species for restora- (data not shown). Spot stratification observations
tion suitability. Earthen pots with dimensions of the mine OB dumping site showed no clear-
14 × 17 × 24 cm were filled with mine OB. Lianes, cut horizons. Sieve analysis confirmed that only
shrubs and tree species were planted, and herba- 0.5% to 1.0% of the total mine OB was in the
ceous species were included to create micro-climate < 0.355 mm grain size fraction (figure 2A). Fur-
conditions (table 1). The survival rate of plant ther, pot mill experiments confirmed that the mine
species was recorded. Screened plant species were OB metamorphoses immediately on coming in con-
planted singly and alternately to achieve the tact with water (figure 2B).
primary and secondary sere state succession. Ter- The pH of the mine OB was 2.5–3.0, and the
racing was constructed in mine OB dumps for eco- C, N and P contents were below the threshold
restoration. In each terrace, a pit was prepared by limit (table 2). The mine OB was also found
602 J Dowarah et al

Figure 3. Comparison of microbial enzyme activity of the overburden materials in < 0.355 mm size grain collected from
Tirap collieries and unmined soil.

Figure 4. Comparison of total microbial count of the overburden materials in < 0.355 mm size grain collected from Tirap
collieries and unmined soil.

to be of the sandy type, and the silt : sand : clay Table 2. Characteristics of mine OB collected from
ratio was 39.9 : 39.9 : 21.9. In addition, significantly Tirap colliery.
less microbial biomass was found in coal mine Constituents Different constituents (%)
OB (64.33 mg kg−1 ) compared to unmined soil
pH (50% suspension) 2.0–2.5
(524 mg kg−1 ). Similarly, significantly lower micro- Clay 21.93(2.2)
bial MPN counts were found in mine OB (figure 5). Silt 38.13(2.2)
No β-glucosidase, dehydrogenase or urease acti- Sand 39.94(2.26)
vity was detected, and significantly less phos- Carbon 0.04
phatase and rhodanase activity was found in coal Phosphorus 0.005
mine OB compared to unmined soil (figure 5). The Nitrogen 0.0001
enzyme activity of phosphatase and rhodanase was
Data in parenthesis are the standard deviation of
almost two times less than that of unmined soil. observed values.
A significantly higher amount of trace metals
were detected in mine OB compared to unmined
soil (table 3). In a composite sample of mine OB, (2.27%); trace amounts of Ca and Mn were also
Fe (81.0%) was the most abundant trace metal, detected. In the < 0.355 mm size grain fraction,
followed by Al (19.79%), S (11.04%), and Mg Al (20.14%) was most abundant, followed by Fe
 Eco-restoration of a high-sulphur coal mine overburden dumping site in northeast India 603

and Cassia streata, respectively. Over the period

of observation, the cumulative population growth
rate increased from 6% to 56% (figure 6). The
plant species also reached an average height and
canopy size of 40 cm to > 348 cm and 85 to 549 cm,
respectively (table 6).

3.3 Plant vegetation structure

After restoration was completed, the frequency dis-

tribution of plant density was recorded in each
year (figure 7). The densities of herb species in the
restored site were 43% and 55% in 2005 and 2006,
respectively. Similarly, an incremental increase in
Figure 5. Population growth rate over the period of three plant density was observed for lianes (3% to 10%)
years in the mine overburden eco-restoration site. and shrubs (12% to 28%) over the period of obser-
vation. On the other hand, a decreasing trend of
plant density was seen in tree species (38% to 8%).
(13.21%), S (12.51%), and Mg (1.86%), with trace The characteristics of plant diversity recorded
amounts of Ca and Mn. over the period of observation are described in
Similarly, significantly higher concentrations of table 7, and ecological succession is shown in
heavy metals were found in mine OB (table 4). plate 1C and D. A sequential progression of cryp-
The concentration of Cr (276.98 ppm) was high- tograms, including bryophytes and pteridophytes,
est, followed by Pd, Cu, Co and Cd, while Co was was found in the restored site. The natural growth
not detected in unmined soil. Similar trends were of bryophytes was observed in over 50% of the area
observed for mine OB samples in the < 0.355 mm of the restored site, while the natural growth of
grain size fraction. pteridophytes was noted in less than 30% of the
area. In addition, the distribution of herbs, shrubs
3.2 In situ eco-restoration and trees after the completion of the experiment
was more than 50%. After continuous monitor-
ing for a period of three years, plant diversity
Amongst the tree species screened, gomari indicative of secondary ecological succession was
(Gmelina arborea) and sissoo (Dalbergia sissoo) observed, including the progression from cryp-
belongs to the family verbenaceae and legumi- tograms to higher plants. This was achieved due
nosae, respectively had a mortality rate of 75%, to the introduction of coalmine OB resistant plant
while the mortality of the other tree species species in the restored sites in close proximity as
belongs to the family caesalpiniaceae, diptero- well as successive refilling of the dead plants which
carpaceae and also leguminosae were 90 to 100% makes the restored mine OB site suitable to grow
(table 5). Two shrub species with the capabi- lower plant and other invasive plant species.
lity to fix atmospheric nitrogen, Cassia streata, a Regarding vegetation structure in the restored
perennial, and Sesbania rostrata, an annual, shrubs sites, it was determined that 80 to 100% of the
belongs to the family caesalpiniaceae and legumi- total area was covered with herbs, shrubs and tree
nosae, respectively had a 75% mortality rate. In species. In addition, for representative plant types
both cases, a pit was required for initial establish- (80%) in the restored site, biomass ranged from 85
ment. Amongst the cover crops screened, mimosa to 700 cm2 , and the average height of the respec-
(M. pigra, M. striata and M. strigillosa) of the tive plant species ranged from 40 cm to 300 cm.
family fabaceae had a mortality rate of 80%, while The overall ecological processes were assessed for
the other cover crops had 100% mortality. How- increased soil organic matter which was in incre-
ever, good survival rates were recorded in the mental order from beyond the detectable limit of
grass species citronella (Cymbopogon winterianus 0.5% to 1.5% over the period of three years.
Jowitt), lemon grass (Cymbopogon flexuosus), and
Saccharum spontaneum, as well as in wild bam-
boo species belongs to the family poaceae. The ger- 4. Discussion
mination (new seedling emergence) rates observed
for citronella and lemon grass were 0.58% and Tirap OB dumps comprised of boulders, rejected
0.625%, respectively, over the three-year study coal, stones, and loosely adhered boulders, with
period. Germination rates of 45% and 21% were varied colours such as white, yellow, and black.
recorded for the shrub species Sesbania rostrata Sieve analysis found that only 0.5% of the particles
604 J Dowarah et al
Table 3. Availability of metal content in mine overburden collected from Tirap colliery and unmined
soil.
Metal content (%)

Name of the soil Al2 O Fe2 O3 MgO CaO Mn S

Unmined soil 5.24 2.28 0.22 0.04 0.003 0.11
(2.1) (0.6) (0.02) (0.01)
OB composite 18.79 81.99 2.27 0.29 0.014 11.04
(1.04) (3.23) (0.05) (0.1) (2.03)
OB < 0.355 mm 20.14 13.2 1.86 0.11 0.007 12.51
(1.23) (1.51) (0.91) (0.07) (6.03)
Data in parenthesis are the standard deviation of observed values.

Table 4. Availability of metal content in mine overburden collected from Tirap colliery and unmined soil.
Metal content (ppm)
Name of the soil Hg (ppb) Mo Pb Cd Co Cu Cr
Unmined soil 0.03 0.04 21.8 3.17 BDL 25.77 150.67
(2.3) (1.8) (2.5) (2.7)
OB composite 0.25 0.12 74.29 14.14 21.82 46.03 276.98
(0.19) (0.05) (4.9) (2.5) (5.7) (2.6) (20.58)
OB < 0.355 mm 0.03 0.12 50.53 6.28 35.33 72.6 312.1
(0.01) (0.01) (6.46) (1.1) (8.3) (0.11) (15.44)
Data in parenthesis are the standard deviation of observed values.

Table 5. Mortality and new seedling/tiller emergence rate over the period of observation in mine
overburden eco-restoration site of Tirap colliery.
Plant species Mortality rate (%) New seedling/tiller emergence (%)
1st year 2nd year 1st year 2nd year
Cymbopogon winterianus 50 30 1.58 (0.22) 0.42 (0.22)
C. flexosus 50 0 0.41 (0.21) 0.45 (0.20)
Bambosa wild type 30 0 0.25 (0.12) 0.62 (0.21)
Bambosa jatibah 100 Nil
Mimosa pigra 80 0 62.5 (3.7) 62.50 (3.3)
M. strigillosa 80 0 60.12 (3.8) 60.12 (3.8)
M. streata 80 0 62.38 (5.3) 62.38 (3.7)
Sesbania rostrata 75 0 45.80 (3.4) 45.8 (2.8)
Cassia streata 75 35 20.83 (3.3) 21.7 (2.1)
C. coronj 90 0
Caesalpaenia 100 0
Siris 99 0
Gmelina arborea 75 0
Shorea robusta 99 0
Plant species which showed survival after first year of planting were recorded. Data in parenthesis
are the standard deviation of observed values.

in the OB dumps of Tirap collieries are in The high concentration of S and the acidic pH in
the < 0.355 mm grain size fraction and bears no north-eastern OB dumps are unique in character.
true soil characters. The OB is highly acidic in In addition, very low C, P and N contents were
nature (pH 2.0 or less) due to high amounts of recorded. The trace metal concentrations were sig-
elemental as well as pyretic sulphur. In general, nificantly higher in the mine OB of the Tirap col-
the Fe (81.0%) and S (2 to 12%) concentrations lieries compared to that of unmined soil. A high
were high in the mine OB of the Tirap collieries. S and Fe content along with acidic mine OB of
 Eco-restoration of a high-sulphur coal mine overburden dumping site in northeast India 605
Table 6. Height and canopy size of some of the plant species of the mine
overburden eco-restoration site of Tirap collieries after three years.
Canopy size
Plant species Height (inch) (cm2 )
C. flexosus 132 (1.15) 200 (2.0)
Bambosa wild type 85 (2.6) 85 (2.5)
Saccharum spontaneum 302 (21.1) 183.17 (30.3)
Mimosa 540.00 (2.4)
Cassia streata 259 (4.9) 283.04 (2.1)
C. coronj 40 (3.6) 85 (1.5)
Dalbergia sisso 348 (5.0) 245.91 (12.0)
Gmelina arborea 132 (2.1) 203.29 (12.0)
Data in parenthesis are the standard deviation of observed values.

of OB dumps of Tirap collieries. High acidity and

above-threshold limit of trace metals retard the
germination, inhibit root growth and also highly
phytotoxic. Reports are available on the cause
of plant death in mine OB stress due to no
organic matter or macronutrients, without normal
soil structure with high levels of autotrophic
iron and sulphur oxidisers associated with plant
death in eco-restoration of highly acidic mine OB
(Schippers et al 2000; Mendez and Maier 2008).
Dobson et al (1997) stated that such mine OB
wastelands require a period of 100 years to colonise
specific plant species.
To overcome the plant death in eco-restoration
of mine OB of Tirap colliery, screening of plant
species to thrive under mine OB stress conditions
Figure 6. Frequency distribution of plant diversity in mine
was performed in situ. The principle behind the use
OB remediated site of Tirap collieries. of native plant species is that these species should
be tolerant to high-stress conditions (Cunningham
and Ow 1996). Thirty-six different plant species
were screened representing twenty different fami-
NE collieries were earlier reported by Akala (1995). lies belonging to the herbaceous, liane, shrub and
Mine OB materials are devoid of true soil char- tree groups. Amongst the herbaceous plant species,
acter, and contain boulders, cobbles, pebbles and Axonopus, Saccharum spontaneum, and the eco-
other rejected mine materials were earlier reported nomically important essential-oil bearing plants
by many workers (Cherfas 1992; Ford and Walker Cymbopogon winterianus Jowitt and C. flexuosus
2003; Juwarkar and Singh 2007; Kundu and Ghose were found to be the most stress-tolerant. These
1994). Microbial population size and soil enzyme plants were able to resist the stress conditions of
activity are considered to be good indicators of soil mine OB due to the nature of their fibrous root sys-
health (Anderson and Domsch 1990; Insam and tems. The liane species Mimosa pigra, M. streata,
Domsch 1988). Ghose (2004) described the effects and M. strigillosa were also able to resist OB stress.
of opencast mining on the fertility of soils. In the However, in order to cultivate these species in mine
present investigation, very low microbial popula- OB, acclimatisation of the plants in the in situ
tion size and enzyme activities were found in the environment through preparation of an artificial
mine OB dumping site of the Tirap collieries. No pit was required. In addition, the shrub species
dehydrogenase, urease or β-glucosidase activities Cassia streata and Sesbania rostrata and the tree
were detected in mine OB, while a ten-fold lower species gomari (Gmelina arborea) and sissoo (Dal-
phosphatase activity was seen in the mine OB bergia sissoo) were determined to be resistant to
compared to the unmined soil. mine OB stress in the Tirap colliery. The resis-
High acidity and above threshold limits of trace tance of Gmelina arborea and Dalbergia sissoo to
metals such as Fe, Al, Cr with no true soil beha- mine OB stress was also shown by the work of
viour are the major hindranges in eco-restoration Juwarkar and Singh (2007) and Singh et al (1996).
606 J Dowarah et al

The goal behind the screening of herbs, lianes,

50 quadrates; ∗∗∗ = number of plant species present in > 50 than quadrates; PSS = primary sere ecological succession (presence of > 50 different lower and medium type
− = Number records of plant diversity and vegetation structure; ∗ = number of plant species present in 10 to 30 quadrates; ∗∗ = number of plant species present in 30 to

plant species); SSC = secondary sere ecological succession (presence of > 80% different lower and medium and tree type plant succession); Bio-mass = biomass express as
Ecological

SOM (%)
processes

< 0.005
shrubs and tree species was to achieve primary,

0.5–1.3
0.5–1.3
secondary and tertiary ecological succession within
a short period of time in an integrated approach.
The herbs support creation of microclimatic con-
ditions in the mine OB environment, and are able

Height (cm)
to proliferate by generating new tillers after estab-

40–100
40–300
lishment. Thereby, they can cover the exposed area

–
rapidly. On the other hand, lianes (Mimosa pigra,
Table 7. Characteristics plant diversity, vegetation structure and ecological processes restored mine overburden dumping sites of Tirap collieries.

M. streata, M. strigillosa) and shrubs (Sesbania

rostrata and Cassia streata) are able to produce
fruit within a year and thus increase their popula-
Bio-mass
Vegetation structure

tion size. This allows the plants to maintain their

85–540
85–700
(cm2 )

continuity across generations. In the present inves-

–

tigation, we found that the seedling growth rate

was low, but sufficient to maintain the subsequent
plant generations.
Density

> 1–56

The outcome of eco-restoration depends on the

> 80
–

nature of the plant distribution after restoration of

the sites. Therefore, the record of ecological suc-
cession and processes is important to prove the
(% area covered)

success of eco-restoration (Eamus et al 2005). In

addition, the general challenge of eco-restoration
> 80–100
Cover

is in developing a site-specific strategy, as all sites

–
> 50

around the world not alike (Hariis et al 2006). In

the present investigation, an overall 8% to 50%
frequency density of plant populations was found.
The ecological succession measures studied were
plant diversity, vegetation structure and ecologi-
Guild

PSS
SSS

cal processes. The plant diversity results indicated

–

the presence of cryptograms, bryophytes (Riccia,

Marchantia, Anthoceros, and moss species), pteri-
dophytes (Lycopodium, Selaginella, Pteris), herbs,
Trees

***
**
–

shrubs and trees in the restored mine OB. Overall,

a secondary sere ecological succession was observed
in the restored mine OB site.
Shrubs

Regarding vegetation structure, 80 to 100%

**
**
–

coverage was observed, the plant species den-

Plant diversity

sity was more than 80%, and biomass produc-

tion was 700 cm2 . The vegetation height in the
Herbs

restored site was determined by both under-

***
**
–

total canopy size (cm2 ) of survived plant species.

story and tree species. Soil organic matter is

considered to be an indicator of total biomass
production in restored sites; in the present investi-
Pteridophytes

gation, ecological processes produced an apprecia-

bly enhanced soil organic matter accumulation,
–
*
*

with concentrations increasing from 0.001–0.005%

to 0.5–1.3%. A strategic change was adopted
to achieve a quick succession of plant cover in
exposed land within a period of one to three
years. Therefore, simultaneous planting of differ-
Bryophytes

ent plant species using a filled pit preparation

***
**
–

method to enhance plant survival and density was

performed to achieve an ecological pyramid of
primary, secondary and tertiary sere states of eco-
logical succession. Dobson et al (1997) reported a
Time
2004
2005
2006

similar strategic approach to achieve a climax state

of succession within a short span of time. In the
 Eco-restoration of a high-sulphur coal mine overburden dumping site in northeast India 607

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in improving the manuscript. quences of reclamation sites; Microb. Ecol. 15 177–188.
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MS received 10 February 2009; revised 10 June 2009; accepted 15 June 2009