IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v15y2023i20p15120-d1264370.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Monitoring Reclamation of Plant Biodiversity and Soil Parameters in an Area of Bauxite Mine Spoils (A Case Study of Greece)

Author

Listed:
  • Alexandra D. Solomou

    (Institute of Mediterranean Forest Ecosystems, Hellenic Agricultural Organization Demeter (ELDO DIMITRA), P.O. Box 14180, Terma Alkmanos, Ilisia, 11528 Athens, Greece)

  • Panagiotis Michopoulos

    (Institute of Mediterranean Forest Ecosystems, Hellenic Agricultural Organization Demeter (ELDO DIMITRA), P.O. Box 14180, Terma Alkmanos, Ilisia, 11528 Athens, Greece)

  • George Mantakas

    (Institute of Mediterranean Forest Ecosystems, Hellenic Agricultural Organization Demeter (ELDO DIMITRA), P.O. Box 14180, Terma Alkmanos, Ilisia, 11528 Athens, Greece)

Abstract

In order to assess plant biodiversity in bauxite mine spoils, a fully randomized experiment was carried out with five treatments to find the ones that would best restore the soil and plant biodiversity in the spring seasons of 2020 and 2021. In the studied area, 68 plant species belonging to 54 genera with high ecological value that comprise the flora and represent 19 families were identified. Concerning the herbaceous plant species richness in several treatments, the highest value was calculated in the treatment of sludge (52 plant species), followed by the treatment of soil in the area (39), whereas the lowest plant species richness was recorded in the treatment of fertilization (27), the incorporation of soil with soils (26), and control (27), so our findings indicate that the area where sludge was applied showed the highest nutrient enrichment as well as the highest plant biodiversity, plant cover, and biomass. Apart from sludge, the mineral soil around the area was also composed of some materials that provided good results with regard to plant parameters. The main problems with the properties of the mine spoil material were the low organic matter content and the low clay percentage. The use of sludge, probably in combination with the soil around the area, might alleviate these problems. The plant parameters (Shannon diversity index, plant cover, and biomass) correlated positively and significantly with most of the macronutrients and micronutrients in soils.

Suggested Citation

  • Alexandra D. Solomou & Panagiotis Michopoulos & George Mantakas, 2023. "Monitoring Reclamation of Plant Biodiversity and Soil Parameters in an Area of Bauxite Mine Spoils (A Case Study of Greece)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(20), pages 1-16, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:20:p:15120-:d:1264370
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/20/15120/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/20/15120/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hendrychová, Markéta & Svobodova, Kamila & Kabrna, Martin, 2020. "Mine reclamation planning and management: Integrating natural habitats into post-mining land use," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Christina G. Siontorou, 2023. "Fair Development Transition of Lignite Areas: Key Challenges and Sustainability Prospects," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(16), pages 1-14, August.
    2. Marc Bascompta & Lluís Sanmiquel & Carla Vintró & Mohammad Yousefian, 2022. "Corporate Social Responsibility Index for Mine Sites," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-24, October.
    3. Hu, Zhenqi & Li, Gensheng & Xia, Jianan & Feng, Zhanjie & Han, Jiazheng & Chen, Zanxu & Wang, Wenjuan & Li, Guodong, 2023. "Coupling of underground coal mining and mine reclamation for farmland protection and sustainable mining," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    4. Amirshenava, Sina & Osanloo, Morteza, 2022. "Strategic planning of post-mining land uses: A semi-quantitative approach based on the SWOT analysis and IE matrix," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    5. Aneta Kowalska & Bal Ram Singh & Anna Grobelak, 2022. "Carbon Footprint for Post-Mining Soils: The Dynamic of Net CO 2 Fluxes and SOC Sequestration at Different Soil Remediation Stages under Reforestation," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(24), pages 1-23, December.
    6. Ruiya Zhang & Yoginder P. Chugh, 2023. "Sustainable Development of Underground Coal Resources in Shallow Groundwater Areas for Environment and Socio-Economic Considerations: A Case Study of Zhangji Coal Mine in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(6), pages 1-19, March.
    7. Kim, Ju-Hee & Kim, Kyung-Hag & Yoo, Seung-Hoon, 2022. "Evaluating and ranking the mining damage prevention programs in South Korea: An application of the fuzzy set theory," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    8. Li, Gensheng & Hu, Zhenqi & Li, Pengyu & Yuan, Dongzhu & Wang, Wenjuan & Han, Jiazheng & Yang, Kun, 2022. "Optimal layout of underground coal mining with ground development or protection: A case study of Jining, China," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    9. Jing, Zhaorui & Wang, Jinman & Tang, Qian & Liu, Biao & Niu, Hebin, 2021. "Evolution of land use in coal-based cities based on the ecological niche theory: A case study in Shuozhou City, China," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    10. Baoquan Cheng & Jianchang Li & Jingfang Tao & Jianling Huang & Huihua Chen, 2023. "Assessing the Land Reclamation Suitability of Beam Fabrication and Storage Yard in Railway Construction: An AHP-MEA Method," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(5), pages 1-20, February.
    11. Jiaxin Guo & Zhenqi Hu & Yusheng Liang, 2022. "Causes and Countermeasures for the Failure of Mining Land Use Policy Reform: Practice Analysis from China," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-19, August.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:20:p:15120-:d:1264370. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.