Abstract
Effective minesoil recovery requires spoils to be converted to soils of similar quality to those previously existing on that site. The developing minesoil should thus acquire three critical capacities, namely the capacities to a) support plant production, b) degrade organic matter and c) remove contaminants from water. The degree of development of these capacities provides a useful measure of soil quality and thus of the success of a given soil recovery technique. At the Meirama lignite mine in Galicia (northwest Spain), the possibility of using cattle slurry instead of the inorganic fertilizers currently used is being investigated. The results of a number of experiments suggest that cattle slurry is more effective (in terms of the above three critical capacities) than inorganic fertilizer. In slurry-fertilized spoils, rapid increases are observed in vegetation cover, in the relative abundance of self-seeded native plant species, in soil microbial activity and in those physical and chemical properties which affect infiltration and the capacity to remove contaminants from percolating water.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Arshad, M. A. and Coen, G. M.: 1992, Am. J. Alternative Agric. 7, 25.
Barnhisel, R. I.: 1988, ‘Fertilization and Management of Reclaimed Lands’ in L. R. Hossner (ed.), Reclamation of Surface-Mined Lands, vol. II, CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida.
Blanco, M. D., Cives, J., Leirós, M. C. and Gil-Sotres, F.: 1992, ‘Recuperación de estériles de minas de lignito con purín de vacuno: lavado de iones’, in Proceedings of the 3o Congreso Nacional de la Ciencia del Suelo, Pamplona, Spain.
Brookes, P. C. and Verstraete, W.: 1989, ‘The Functioning of Soil as an Ecosystem' in F. A. M. de Haan and S. E. A. T. M. van der Zee (eds.), Soil Quality Assessment. State of the Art Report on Soil Quality, Final Report to the E. C. Directorate-General XII, Contract EV4A/0008/NL.
Carballas, T., Díaz-Fierros, F., Acea, M. J., Cabaneiro, A., Carballas, M., Gil-Sotres, F., Leirós, M. C., López, E., Núñez, A. and Villar, M. C.: 1990, El purín de vacuno en Galicia. Caracterización, poder fertilizante y problemas ambientales, Ed. Xunta de Galicia, 162 p.
Doll, E. C.: 1988, ‘Relation of Public Policy to Reclamation Goals and Responsabilities' in L.R. Hossner (ed.), Reclamation of Surface-Mined Lands, vol I, CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida.
Galán, P.: 1995, ‘Las labores de recuperación de los estériles’ in F. Guitián (ed.), Recuperación de las escombreras de la mina de Lignitos de Meirama (A Coruña), Servicio de Publicaciones de la Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
Gil-Sotres, F., Leiros, M. C., and Trasar-Cepeda, M. C.: 1992, Land Degrad. Rehabil. 3, 229.
Gil-Sotres, F., Trasar-Cepeda, M. C., Ciardi, C., Ceccanti, B. and Leiros, M. C.: 1992, Biol. Fertil Soils, 13, 25.
Gil-Sotres, F., Leirós, M. C., Trasar-Cepeda, M. C., Saá, A. and González-Sangregorio, M.V.: 1995, Soil Biochemical Properties in the Reclamation of Lignite Mining Land’, in B. Ceccanti and C. Garciá (eds.), The Environmental Biochemistry in Practice, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Istituto per la Chimica del Terreno, Pisa, Italy..
González-Sangregorio, M. V., Trasar-Cepeda, M. C., Leirós, M. C., Gil-Sotres, F. and Guitián-Ojea, F.: 1992, Soil Biol. Biochem. 23, 589.
Grundt, D. F.: 1985, ‘History of Reclamation Research’, Symposium on the Reclamation of Lands Disturbed by Surface Mining. A Cornestone for Communication and Understanding, American Society for Surface Mining Reclamation.
Hedges, J. I.: 1988, ‘Polimerization of Humic Substances in Natural Environments' in F. H. Frimmel and R. F. Christman (eds.), Humic Substances and their Role in the Environment, John Wiley and Sons, Chichester.
Hempfling, R. and Schulten, H. R.: 1991, Z. Pflanzenerär. Bodenk. 154, 425.
Insam, H. and Domsch, K. H.: 1988, Microbial Ecol. 15, 177.
Leirós, M. C., Gil-Sotres, F., Ceccanti, B., Trasar-Cepeda, M. C. and González-Sangregorio, M. V.: 1993, Soil Biol. Biochem. 25, 1391.
Leirós, M. C., Trasar-Cepeda, M. C., Galán, P. and Gil-Sotres, F.: 1994, ‘Evolution of biochemical properties in lignite mine spoils treated with cattle slurry or inorganic fertilizer’ in L'approccio integrato della moderna biologia: uomo, territorio, ambiente. VII Congresso Internazionale Ordine Nazionale dei Biologi, Vieste,Italy.
Leirós, M. C., Gil-Sotres, F., Trasar-Cepeda, M. C. and Saá, S.: 1994, ‘Características de la materia orgánica de suelos de minas de lignito y su influencia en los procesos de descontaminación de los materiales esteriles’ in Comunicaciones II Congreso Internacional de Suelos Contaminados, Vol. II, Vitoria, Spain.
Oades, J. M.: 1984, Plant Soil 76, 319.
Parr, J. F., Papendick, R. I., Homick, S. B. and Meyer, R. E.: 1992, Am. J. Alternative Agric. 7, 5.
Powell, J. L.: 1988, ‘Revegetation Options’, in L. R. Hossner (ed.) Reclamation of Surface-Mined Lands, vol. II, CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida.
Saá, A., Garciá, C., Cives, J., Gil-Sotres, F., Trasar-Cepeda, M. C., Leirós, M. C. and Ceccanti, B.: 1994, ‘Biochemical Properties Development and Humification in Minesoils Amended with Cattle Slurry' in Transactions 15th World Congress of Soil Science, Acapulco, México.
Sopper, W. E.: 1993, Municipal sludge Use in Land Reclamation, Lewis Publishers, Boca Raton, Florida, 163 p.
Stevenson, F. J.: 1982, Humus Chemistry, Wiley and Sons, New York.
Stroo, H. F. and Jenks, E. M.: 1982, Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 46, 548.
Trasar-Cepeda, M. C., de Blas, E., García-Rodeja, I., Leirós, M. C. and Gil-Sotres, F.: 1993, Land Degrad. Rehabil. 4, 131.
Varela, C., Vázquez, C., González-Sangregorio, M. V., Leirós, F. and Gil-Sotres, F.: 1993, Soil Sci. 156, 193.
Vázquez, C.: 1991, Propiedades fisicas y productividad de los suelos de la mina de lignito de Meirama (A Coruña), Ed. Universidad de Santiago, Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
Visser, S. and Parkinson, D.: 1992, Am. J. Alternative Agric. 7, 33.
Ziechman, W.:1988, ‘Evolution of Structural Models from Consideration of Physical and Chemical Properties’ in F. H. Frimmel and R. F. Christman (eds.) Humic Substances and Their Role in the Environment, Wiley and Sons, Chichester.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Leirós, M.C., Gil-Sotres, F., Trasar-Cepeda, M.C. et al. Soil recovery at the Meirama opencast lignite mine in northwest Spain: A comparison of the effectiveness of cattle slurry and inorganic fertilizer. Water Air Soil Pollut 91, 109–124 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00280927
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00280927