Characterization of Physico-chemical Properties and their Impact on Enzyme Activities in a Chronosequence Coal Mine Overburden Spoil as Biomarker of Reclamation Process

Abstract

Mining activities lead to land degradation and alter ecosystem functions. Monitoring land degradation status is essential to take appropriate and timely conservation measures. Soil genesis during early years of mine spoil reclamation is critical and may help to predict reclamation success. The microbial activity is significantly influenced by the physicochemical properties, and hence, the assessment of these changes is essential for soil management practices. In the present investigation, the physico-chemical characterization and the activities of six different enzymes (amylase, invertase, protease, urease, phosphatase and dehydrogenase) were periodically analyzed with respect to different coal mine overburden spoil in chronosequence over a period of 10 yr, and compared with the native forest soil, in order to assess their effectiveness in reclaiming mine overburden spoil. Comparative analysis suggested that there was gradual increase in enzyme activities from a nutrient deficient situation (fresh mine spoil) to an enriched soil (native forest soil). Besides, the variation in enzyme activities was significantly attributable to differences in physico-chemical properties.Stepwise multiple regression analysis was performed in order to determine the contribution of different physico-chemical properties influencing the variability in enzyme activities. Further, principal component analysis was able to discriminate six coal mine overburden spoils and native forest soil into independent clusters on the basis of their physico-chemical properties and enzyme activities. The study clearly revealed that the change in microbial indices in terms of enzyme activities were more responsive and correlated very well with the extent of land degradation, and therefore, can serve as biomarker for reclamation studies.

Condição física e desenvolvimento radicular de gramíneas em solo construído após mineração de carvão

“…Além do impacto visual, há problemas associados à drenagem ácida de áreas adjacentes (Daniels & Zipper, 2010) e à erosão e compactação do solo construído (Sheoran et al, 2010;Krümmelbein & Raab, 2012). Além disso, perdas de carbono ocorrem durante a remoção, armazenamento e recolocação do solo na área minerada (Anderson et al, 2008;Wick et al, 2009;Maharana & Patel, 2013).…”

Seasonal and Temporal Dynamics of Physicochemical and Biological Properties of Chronosequence Coal Mine Spoil Soils

“…The highly significant positive correlation of bacterial population number and soil enzymes with soil moisture may be because of the requirement of water in metabolic reactions and consequently influencing the soil enzymes. The biological properties were significantly correlated with each other which indicated their interdependence with respect to origin or/and function .…”

Características químicas de um solo construído e seus efeitos no desenvolvimento radicular de gramíneas perenes

“…O estabelecimento de vegetação e a gradual adição de resíduos durante o período de recuperação de solos minerados têm sido reportados como a razão para as melhorias no conteúdo de carbono orgânico ao longo do tempo (Maharana & Patel, 2013). Franco (2006) realizou a primeira avaliação do teor de CO no solo construído, do presente estudo, após cinco meses de revegetação e observou na camada de 0,00-0,10 m um teor médio de 5,34 g kg -1 , enquanto que na camada de 0,10-0,20 m o teor foi de 5,18 g kg -1 .…”