Effect of tree plantations on soil organic carbon in Wardha coalfields of Maharashtra, India

Degradation of local environment due to mining activities is a serious global problem. A huge area of land all over the world has been converted into unproductive lands due to unscientific mining. Ecological restoration through plantations is one of the most effective ways to stabilize the degraded ecosystem in the area. In the present investigations soil organic carbon (SOC) in coal mine spoil and native soil under plantations in Wardha coalfield area of Maharashtra state of India was assessed. Total 64 soil samples (surface and subsurface) were collected from the Chandrapur, Wani and Wani North area of the Western Coalfield Limited, Nagpur, Maharashtra in 2017. The data on SOC of plantations raised on overburden (OB) mine spoil and the native soils were compared with each other. Results of the study showed that an average of 0.83 per cent SOC was found in surface soil and 0.51 per cent in subsurface soil averaging 0.68 per cent SOC in the soil of 0–30 cm depth. Further SOC was found more (0.81%) in native soil than OB spoil (0.68%) soil with an increment by 19.11 per cent over OB spoil. Average SOC in 0–30 cm depth was recorded maximum in Chandrapur (0.82%) followed by Wani (0.74%) and Wani North area (0.55%). It was found that SOC increased with age of plantationss and decreased with soil depth.