Minimising Coal Mining’s Impact on Biodiversity: Artificial Soils for Post-Mining Land Reclamation

Abstract

Coal mining and the energy industry generate large amounts of solid waste, which must be disposed of in landfills and lead to numerous environmental problems. This paper presents a method for creating artificial soil mixtures based on an EU-funded international research project called RECOVERY. The main idea behind the proposed solution is the safe use of coal combustion by-products (energetic slag and decarbonation lime), mining waste (aggregate and sealing material) and spent mushroom compost as components for creating artificial soils. Laboratory tests of the soil substitutes showed low concentrations of heavy metals and high macronutrient content, adequate for proper plant growth. As a result of a two-year study on the application of soil cover on a 4000 m2 testing ground, species characteristics for the mesotrophic, dry meadow, ruderal and segregated vegetation were found. In the second year of the in situ study, an apparent reduction in soil salinity was observed. The principal component analysis confirmed that decreasing soil salinity positively affected ruderal and dry meadow species. In contrast, high salinity levels showed no adverse effect on mesotrophic meadow vegetation. The results demonstrated that applying soil covers elaborated from industrial by-products is valuable for recovering high-acidity coal mine waste heaps.

A Novel Hybrid Fuzzy Multiple-Criteria Decision-Making Model for the Selection of the Most Suitable Land Reclamation Variant at Open-Pit Coal Mines

“…Many coal mines are included in programs of sustainable development, economic support to regions and local communities, environmental restoration, etc. Mining is not related only to exploration and exploitation, but also considers environmental responsibility to protect environmental sustainability [9,12,15,16]. Legal, social, and environmental requirements for complex mining operations are fully integrated into the mining and reclamation plan, while addressing sustainable development and engineering analyses will result in the optimization of mining operations.…”

Development and Evaluation of Cow Dung Composting Equipment with Ventilation and Heating

“…Aerobic fermentation composting is one of the most effective methods to address environmental pollution and soil fatigue stemming from cow manure [6][7][8]. Composting organically converts waste into high-quality fertilizer through the decomposition of microorganisms.…”