Influence of liming and topsoil thickness on vegetative growth and leachate quality on acidic coal refuse
Book
·
OSTI ID:361653
- Virginia Polytechnic Inst. and State Univ., Blacksburg, VA (United States). Dept. of Crop and Soil Environmental Sciences
- American Coal Ash Association, Alexandria, VA (United States)
Coal waste materials inhibit direct vegetation establishment due to adverse physical and chemical properties, particularly low water retention and high potential acidity. The Moss No. 1 coal refuse pile is located in Dickenson County, Virginia, and was idled in the late 1980`s with little topsoil resource available for final closure. The refuse was acidic (Total-S = 0.38%; pH = 3.6), black, high (70%) in coarse fragments, and had a low water holding capacity (4.5% in <2.0 mm fraction). A small plot experiment was established on the refuse pile to evaluate the influence of liming rates (50% and 100% of lime req.) and topsoil thickness (15, 30 and 60 cm) on vegetative growth and leachate quality. Liming and topsoil amendment increased the surface soil pH from <4.0 to >6.0 over a two-year period, which resulted in greater vegetative cover and biomass than the control plots. All topsoil treatments resulted in greater vegetative cover and biomass than plots treated with lime only due to improved surface soil physical and chemical properties. A topsoil treatment of 60 cm gave the thickest vegetative cover and biomass yield. Such a treatment, however, would be cost-prohibitive at this location. Application of 27 Mg/ha of lime to the refuse surface along with 15 cm of topsoil produced acceptable two-year vegetative cover and biomass, and appeared to be the optimal treatment for this particular situation. Both liming and topsoil had no affect on leachate pH and the electrical conductivity in leachates collected below the plots. This suggests that surface revegetation will have little effect on the quality of water draining through the pile, so long term water treatment requirements may not be reduced by successfully revegetating the pile surface.
- OSTI ID:
- 361653
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-9805185--
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Acid generation and vegetation response of reclaimed coal refuse in Utah: An interim report
Lime treatment experiments gob revegetation in Illinois: A twenty-five year record
Reclamation success at an abandoned deep coal mine site near Staunton, Illinois
Conference
·
Sun Dec 30 23:00:00 EST 1990
·
OSTI ID:56923
Lime treatment experiments gob revegetation in Illinois: A twenty-five year record
Conference
·
Wed Dec 30 23:00:00 EST 1998
·
OSTI ID:361654
Reclamation success at an abandoned deep coal mine site near Staunton, Illinois
Conference
·
Thu Dec 31 23:00:00 EST 1987
·
OSTI ID:5177478