Reclamation of derelict mine land by simply growing crops

ABSTRACT

Reclaiming derelict mine land is good for the environment, good for public health, and good for agricultural production. Technologies to optimise soil fertility and crop yields with the least time, cost and damage to the environment have been developed in the Nikopol district of Dnipropetrovs’k region which has been extensively strip-mined for manganese and, in some places, restored by replacement of the overburden. Perennial legume-grass mixtures recreate fertile soil, not only in reconstituted chernozem but, also, in raw overburden materials. Different materials respond at different rates but over the longer term (50 years), legume-grass mixtures continue to improve soil physical, chemical and biological attributes. The lessons learned are equally applicable to reclamation of war-torn land.

KEYWORDS:

• Land reclamation
• technosols
• phytomelioration
• legume-grass mixture

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to their colleagues in the Dnipro State Agrarian and Economic University and Institute of Grain Crops of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine for their support and to Dr David Dent for editorial help.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Notes

1. DSTU: Derzhavi Standarty Ukrainy, State Standards of Ukraine