Ecology Restoration - Lass Notes

ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION
Terminology and Concept of Restoration:
Dictionary meaning of the word restoration is "to restore or return of some thing to a former,
original, normal or unimpaired condition". If we follow this meaning and try to restore the
damaged ecosystem, our ultimate goal should be to return the land to the same or at least
similar land use and productivity levels as it existed prior to the mining. Other terms such as
reclamation and rehabilitation have been frequently used along with restoration. The basic
differences between them are as:
Reclamation: the general process whereby land surface is returned to some form of
beneficial use;
Restoration: reclamation that is guided by ecological principles and promotes the recovery
of ecological integrity; reinstatement of the original (pre-mining) ecosystem in all its
structural and functional aspects;
Rehabilitation: progression towards the reinstatement of the original ecosystem;
Replacement: the creation of an alternative ecosystem to the original.
Ecosystem: An ecosystem consists of the biota (plants, animals, microorganisms) within a
given area, the environment that sustains it, and their interactions.
Community: Populations of species that comprise the biota are collectively called biotic
community.
Habitat: It refers to the dwelling place of an organism or community that provides the
requisite conditions for its life processes.
Biodiversity: It refers to the biota in terms of taxonomic and genetic diversity, the variety of
life forms present and the community structure thereby created, and the ecological roles
performed.
Ecological processes or ecosystem functions: These are the dynamic attributes of
ecosystems, including interactions among organisms and interactions between organisms and
their environment.
Reference ecosystem: A reference ecosystem or reference serves as a model for planning a
restoration project, and later for its evaluation. In its simplest form, the reference is an actual
site, its written description, or both.
Exotic species: An exotic species of plant or animal is one that was introduced in to an area
where it did not previously occur through relatively recent human activities.
Ecological engineering: It involves the manipulation of natural materials, living organisms
and physical chemical environment to achieve specific human goals and solve technical
problems.
Mitigation: It is an action that is intended to compensate environmental damage.
Ecological Restoration is the restoration of internal processes, as well as ecosystem
components (such as rare species, or important habitat features, nutrient cycle). Implicit in
any restoration project is that the cause(s) of ecosystem degradation are identified and
controlled . It may also require long-term efforts, such as reintroducing native species,
removing exotic species, or reinstating natural processes. A common concept in restoration is
to provide assistance in the context of our incomplete knowledge of how ecosystems
function. Given time and removal of degrading agents, natural processes will accomplish
most of the work. Restoration is the recreation of entire communities of organisms, closely
modeled on those occurring naturally. The term restoration is used in broader sense by some
environmentalists to refer to many kinds of environmental management, including
reclamation. Ecosystem degradation causes loss of some of the numerous components of the
ecosystem forever, therefore, in some cases restoration, in strict sense, may be impossible.
2.2 RELATION TO BIODIVERSITY
Ecological restoration is about a broad set of activities (enhancing, repairing, or

reconstructing degraded ecosystems and optimizing biodiversity returns).In essence, the
restoration of mined land is based around ecosystem reconstruction. It is usually a question of
the reestablishment of the capability of the land to capture and retain fundamental resources
(energy, water, nutrients and species).The question than arises as what to restore? Should it be
an exact replica of the biodiversity of the immediate premising ecosystem, an ecologically
superior and perhaps historical standard, or even a future state, which is the condition that
natural succession may have produced if no disturbance had occurred?
2.3 ATTRIBUTES OF RESTORED ECOSYSTEMS
A degraded ecosystem can be considered to have been restored when it regains sufficient
biotic and abiotic resources to sustain its structure, ecological processes and functions with
minimal external assistance or subsidy. It will then demonstrate resilience to normal ranges
of environmental stress and disturbance. It will interact with contiguous ecosystems in terms
of biotic and abiotic flows and social and economic interactions. It will support, as
appropriate, local social and economic activities. Such a state is often difficult to achieve.
Nevertheless, significant environmental and social benefits can be realized even in the
earliest stages of restoration.(George D. Gunn,2001)
Restoration can take time before all the benefits are evident. The attributes listed below
provide a basis for assessing restoration progress. Some are readily measured. Others must
be assessed indirectly, including most ecosystem functions, which cannot be ascertained
without research efforts that are likely to exceed the capabilities, budgets, and time frames of
most restoration projects. (David Lamba, 2001)
The nine attributes listed below provide a basis for determining when restoration has been
accomplished
1. The restored ecosystem contains a characteristics assemblage of species that occur in the
references ecosystem and that provide appropriate community structure.
2. The restored ecosystem consists of indigenous species to the greatest practicable extent. In
restored cultural ecosystems, allowances can be made for exotic domesticated species and for
non-invasive ruder and segetal species that presumably co-evolved with them.
3. All functional groups necessary for the continued development and/or stability of the
restored ecosystem are represented or, if they are not, the missing groups have the potential to
colonize by natural means.
4. The physical environment of the restored ecosystem is capable of sustaining reproducing
species necessary for its continued stability or development along the desired trajectory.
5. The restored ecosystem apparently functions normally for its ecological stage of
development, and signs of dysfunction are absent.
6. The restored ecosystem is suitably integrated in to a larger ecological matrix or landscape,
with which it interacts through abiotic and biotic flows and exchanges.
7. Potential threats to the health and integrity of the restored ecosystem from the surrounding
landscapes have been eliminated or reduced as much as possible.
8. The restored ecosystem is sufficiently resilient to endure the normal periodic stress events
in the local environment that serve to maintain the integrity of the ecosystem.
9. The restored ecosystem is self sustaining to the same degree as its reference ecosystem,
and has the potential to persist indefinitely under existing environmental conditions (Andre
Clewell, James Aronson, Keith Winterhalder, 2004)
2.4. Need for Restoration:
2.4.1. Necessity of land:

Land is the most important basic natural resource on which humans depend. It is not a simple
commodity that can be stored and replaced, destroyed and remade, or recycled as we do with
manufactured goods. It is a complex biological system and dynamic combination of geology,
topography and hydrology, soil and flora and fauna and influences every sphere of human
activity that is develops over long periods of time. It is an outstanding natural and cultural
inheritance and an important contribution of nature to the regional identity and sense of place.
Land is one of our most real assets and one of our major natural resources and also it is finite.
Landscapes are repositories of biodiversity and the substrate for flora and fauna conservation
and the maintenance of ecosystem services such as the provision of clean air, clean water, and
nutrient cycling. It may also be the source of exploitable mineral resources and are used for
the siting of infrastructure and human settlements.
With augmentation in industrialization and increasing population, the world’s ecosystems

have undergone significant degradation with negative impacts on biological diversity and
peoples’ livelihoods. The resources are getting scarce day by day. Therefore it is important to
recognize the potential detrimental influences of disturbances to plant and animal
communities so that steps can be taken in turn to keep these at the minimum and ecological
balance re-established at the earliest (GES, 1997). Mining industry leads to the loss of the
cultural landscape above the deposits which is the result of centuries of development (Pietsch,
1998; Wittlingerova, 1998). Estimates indicate that for extracting about 20 billion tonnes of
mineral raw materials, the mining industry has to excavate 200 billion tonnes of earth and
rock mass (Dhar and Thakur, 1996). This means that globally, about 90% of the excavated
material is waste or 'residuals' which needs to be disposed of in an ecologically sustainable
manner. This indicates the amount of degradation that goes on while extracting a mineral.
Ecosystem degradation can assume different levels i.e. partial and complete destruction of the
vegetation or loss of surface soil horizons and soil mantle by erosion. In drastically disturbed
ecosystems such as resulting from surface mining, geology-soil-plant stability circuit is
disrupted; flora, fauna, hydrological relations and soil biological systems are adversely
disturbed and soil is lost both in pedological and biological senses (Jha and Singh, 1992). A
landscape disturbed by surface mining has been referred to as a “landscape without a
memory” (Lhota and Sklenicka, 2002).
The major phases in mining which impact the environment are:
 Exploration - including surveys, field studies, drilling and exploratory excavations.

Some land disturbance and wastes already occur at this stage.
 Project development - includes roads and buildings, access tunnels, erection of
treatment plants, overburden stripping and placing, preparation of disposal areas,
construction of service infrastructure, power lines and generating plants, water
supplies and sewerage, laboratories and amenities.
 Mine operation - underground or surface mining, hydraulic mining in or near river
beds. Newer processes may include heap-leaching of ore or tailings, and solution
mining of buried deposits.
 Beneficiation - on-site processing may include comminution to reduce particle size,
flotation using selected chemicals, gravity separation or magnetic, electrical or optical
sorting, ore leaching with a variety of chemical solutions.
 Associated transport and storage of ore and concentrates may be a handling risk and
can be a handling risk and can result in localized site contamination.
 Mine closure - rehabilitation is best done progressively rather than at the end of life of
the mine. While the closure and rehabilitation is intended to mitigate environmental
impact, it is important that it does not itself create secondary effects through excessive
fertilizer use, spread of weeds, siltation and incompatible landscape features.
Finally that there is lack of land resources the pressure on land is obvious and the need for its
restoration to optimum land capability can hardly be overemphasized (Sachdev, 1996). There
is now a growing realization that we will not be able to conserve the earth’s biological
diversity through the protection of critical areas alone. For that environment-friendly
construction projects are required for efficient use and preservation of national land (Choon,
2005). These means ecological restoration can be primary component of conservation and
sustainable developments programmes throughout the world. Its inherent capacity to provide
people with the opportunity not only to repair ecological damage, but also to human
condition makes it uniquely valuable. The conservation benefits of restoration are obvious.
Restoration is also important, that in many instances, ecological restoration has also been able
to renew economic opportunities, rejuvenate traditional cultural practices and refocus the
aspiration of local communities. So we have an ethical/moral obligation and responsibility to
restore, as best we can, disturbed and degraded systems. Every attempt must be made to
prevent land degradation. In addition restoration of the legacy of already degraded land needs
to be undertaken (Bell, 2002).
NATURAL PROCESS OF RESTORATION

Concept of natural restoration
Natural primary succession on degraded land involves a series of recognizable processes
(Table 1) .These can be divided into those that are primarily biological in origin and those
that are primarily physical, although there is a considerable interconnection between them.
The biological processes begin with the arrival of plants and their establishment and go on to
the development of a biological active soil. These are assisted by physical changes, mainly
due to weathering of the initial mineral materials present. Some of these, such as the arrival
of species, can occur rapidly, but may occur only slowly. Others, such as the accumulation of
fine mineral material by weathering, usually occur only slowly, but will be much affected by
the starting material.
Soil development processes taking many thousands of years, especially (i) the breakdown of
original rock material, and (ii) the differentiation of horizons, does take a very long time
because the underlying physico-chemical processes, such as the break down of clay minerals,
are long drown out processes. Podsols (spodsols), for instance, can take several thousands of
years to reach there mature state. In many ways, although the rate is much affected by
climate, such soil development is an endless process.
Thus we can see that without adequate preventive measures mining can greatly alter the
environment around the site. There may be changes in landscapes, water tables, and animal
habitats, as well as air and water pollution, and permanent degradation of land. The natural
process of restoration of a degraded mined land is extremely very slow as the soil
development takes thousands of year as well as to protect environment, restoration is
necessary. It will not only accelerate the natural process of restoration to a large extent but
also strengthen the ecosystem in all aspect of its biophysical environment.
Few
NATURAL STATE Years
Service Disturbance
Many
Years Loss of Vegetation
Many
years
Ecological Restoration
Site Instability
Many years
Many
Years Plant Invasion
Increase in Site Stability

Migration
Interaction Competition
Fig.1. Ecological restoration cycle

The Potential of Natural Restoration
It is evident that natural processes can carry out restoration on many sites completely
unassisted, although on others particular limiting factors need to be treated .Although every
situation is site specific, it is possible to make some generalizations. The sites where natural
restoration is likely to be most successful are those which the soil is most nutrient rich, and
physically satisfactory, and which are surrounded by a developed,seed bearing ,vegetation
.Under these circumstances what is termed a secondary succession .Limits can be set by
difficulties of immigration ,particularly in large mining sites because of the distances from
source vegetation.
If the limiting factors can be recognized and treated, natural restoration can proceed rapidly.
The most common method in practice will be a combination of limited treatments of critical
factors and leaving natural processes to take care of the rest.
Natural Process of Soil Development
The process of soil development takes several years. Indeed certain aspects of soils,
especially (1)the break down of original rock material, and(2)the different ion of horizons, do
take a very time, because the underlying physico-chemical processes, such as the breakdown
of clay minerals, are long drawn out processes .
The process of biological soil development includes the development of (1)soil organic
matter;(2)soil nitrogen capital;(3)capital of other available nutrients; and(4)nutrient cycling
processes. These biological qualities can develop much more rapidly, over periods measured
in decades. The evidence for this comes from soil development in different primary
successions, an excellent example of which has occurred on the marines left by retreating
glaciers at Glacier Bay, Alaska .
Assisted Soil Development
Although therefore, natural restoration is a powerful tool in some situations, it is a normal
practice that selected species are sown or planted, using a variety of techniques to ensure
appropriate seed or plant replacement. These ensure that the selected range of species is
introduced and problems affecting seedling establishment overcome. Restoration of mining
areas may require the employment of unusual methods, such as hydro seeding, which can
raise their own special problems.
Problems and Their Overcomming
1. overcomming physical problems
In the materials produced by mining, it is virtually inescapable that soil texture will be a
problem. Mine wastes are usually transported by heavy machinery exerting ground pressures
of 5 kg cm and even more. Compactation is therefore inevitable. This inhabit root growth
completely (Ayerst, 1978) unless compactation can be avoided by alternative means of
transport and disposal, the only solution is to loosen compacted material by ripping or
scarifying. With tree planting the fine material can be placed in small pockets of fine
material, The plant will subsequently root in to deeper layers where there are adequate
supplies of water.
Scarcity or excess of water can cause problems. Open pits can fill with water. The most
sensible low cost solution could be creating a wetland, using appropriate wetland species.
Where drought is a problem, the only solution is to time vegetation establishment to the wet
period when vegetation would normally establish naturally, even if this means delaying
restoration.(A.Bradshaw,1997)
2. Overcoming nutritional problems

The waste materials produced by mining operations have many different characteristics,
related to the type of material being mined and the geology of the associated strata.
Deficiencies in nutrients such as phosphorous, potassium, magnesium, calcium are effectively
permanent. Natural processes cannot overcome these deficiencies, it is therefore necessary to
add the missing nutrients (Williams and Walker, 1969) .This is not difficult by the use of
fertilizers which can be chosen to provide just the missing nutrients. However some need to
applied for initial application, and may require further applications to be made latter, until the
material has settled down to its normality. This is particularly common in coal mine wares
because of the high levels of available iron and aluminum, (Fitter and Bradshaw, 1974).
3. Overcoming toxicity problems
Toxicities can be one of the most intractable problems in mine restoration. The commonest
problem is low ph due to weathering and oxidation of sulphide minerals .these are more
prevalent in coal wastes .There is no doubt that with the passage of time a combination of
natural weathering and leaching will lead to the disappearance of pyrite, but is a long process.
Vegetation of Acid tolerating species is a promising solution. Application of lime normally
ground limestone is another solution to get rid of this problem of toxicity. (A.Bradshaw,
1997)
To determine the total amount of lime required it is essential that the total amount of pyrite
and any residual acid neutralizing acid capacity are determined (Knabe, 1973; Costigan et al.,
1981).
3.6 Primary succession: Methodology for natural restoration
The process of natural succession demonstrates that nature can achieve restoration unaided,
and develop fully functioning soils. Although there are problems set by processes of
dispersal, once they are established plants demonstrate that they can readily provide organic
matter, lower soil bulk density, and bring mineral nutrients to the surface and accumulate
them in an available form. Natural restoration can be achieved at low cost, and the product is
self sustaining in the long term (Anthony Bradshaw, 2000)
Natural Primary succession on degraded land involves a series of recognizable processes
(Bradshaw,1997).Legumes ,for instance ,important in natural succession ,have heavy seeds
and do not naturally move more than a few meters .Woodland herbaceous species are well
known for their instability ,then given a great deal of time ,to migrate over even short
distances(Peterken ,1974).This is obvious for trees relative to a degraded site ,such as
quarries and chemical wastes which have special characteristics(Ash et al.1994)
Table2: The important processes of primary sucession on degraded land and the ways in
which they can be assisted.
PROCESS PROBLEM SOLUTION

1.Immigration of appropriate Not enough of Introduce sufficient by seeds or plants

plant species appropriate species to form inoculum,encourage birds
2. Establishment of Adverse weather difficult Make surface rough,provide mulch,or

appropriate plant species site surface nurse
3.Surface stablization and Erosion lack of soil Initiate plant cover,provide fines
accumulation of fine mineral particles
materials
4.Accumulation of nutrients Gross lack of particular Ensure tolerant species ,provide

nutrients minimum fertilizer dressing
5.Accumulation of nitrogen Gross lack of nitrogen Ensure n-fixing species,aply sewage

sludge
6.Immigration of soil flora and Slowimmigration of Inoculate with soil specially

fauna certain species containing mycorriza.earthworms etc
7.Changes in soil structure and Slow development Ensure vigrous plant growth to
function provide root penetration
8.Reduction in toxicities Excess acids ,excess Introduce tolerant species,add

metals minimum lime.add p and organic
matter
9.Physical improvements to Excess Remove compactation by ripping

texture and structure compactation,lack of soil
structure
10.Leaching processes Excess soil salinity ,acid Ensure soil surface broken and
or metals adequate drainage
Table 3 Process in primary succession on degraded land, with approximate periods of time
over which they are likely to be important
An overview of restoration planning

Ecological restoration must involve an orderly set of considerations that promote successful
procedures and practices. Often these practices, although based on similar general
considerations, will need to be innovative because of the unique set of circumstances each
area and ecosystem to be restored represents. The important stages in restoration planning are
shown in Fig. This restoration-planning model recognizes that, for most mine reclamation
programmes over the last 30 years, an over-riding consideration has been whether the topsoil
has been retained or lost.This will in all probability determine how quickly a pre-mining
ecosystem can be restored and whether such a restoration goal is ecologically possible and
sustainable.
Although it has been emphasized that restoration should be conceptualized as a process, the
product is still important. It must be the starting point for any restoration project (i.e.,
restoring to what?) and it is essential to define the product in a time frame (i.e., restored by
when?). This restoration goal must then be translated into specific process attributes —the
restoration objectives (Fig.).
The restoration objectives must be formulated from a detailed knowledge of the basic
structural and functional characteristics of natural ecosystems (Table 4). Ecological
restoration may implicitly want all attributes to be achieved (e.g., to claim close
correspondence to the pre-mining ecosystem), but the practical context of any site restoration
demands that the following are considered: speed of attainment, economics (or cost-benefit),
achievability, and long-term stability with on-going management at reasonable (low) cost
(Bradshaw 1990). Such practical considerations are necessary for, without them, unrealistic
objectives both in ecological and economic terms can be set.
The development of measurable criteria derived from the particular desired community and
ecosystem characteristics (as restoration objectives) for judging restoration success have
proved difficult to establish.
Three general success guidelines that the restored ecosystem should attain:
(i) Self-regulation for some set period of time, where self-regulation means the structural and
functional attributes persist in the absence of whatever “subsidies” (fertilizer, seeding etc.)
may have been necessary during the initial phases of implementation;
(ii) The design criteria (restoration goal and objectives) established before restoration was
undertaken;
(iii) No observable adverse effects in the larger ecological landscape.
Fig. 1. The continuum of general ecological restoration effort from enhancement to

reconstruction .
Enhancing Conservation Value in Disturbed Landscapes

e.g. tackling overgrazing, alien species invasion, pollution, and decreasing landscape
fragmentation; the introduction of semi-natural areas (patches and corridors) within
agricultural or commercial forestry landscapes
Repairing Degraded Land

e.g. improving the productivity and biodiversity of land with soil erosion or salinization
problems
Reconstruction of Highly Degraded Sites

e.g. amelioration of substrates where the original soil is lost and introducing vegetation where
it is absent
Fig. The stages in the conceptual planning of the ecological restoration of mined land
Restoration Goal
(possible and sustainable, meeting local needs at reasonable cost)
¯
Restoration Objectives
(ecosystem attribute priorities)
¯
Measurable Success Criteria
(what criteria over what time scale?)
¯
Topsoil Retained Topsoil Lost or Buried
(e.g. Strip mining) (e.g. Tailings Dams)
¯ ¯
Clearing Existing Vegetation Assessment of Wastes/Site
(needed as seed source/mulch etc.) (physical, chemical, biological)
¯
Topsoil Handling
(stripping, storing,
¯
reinstatement)
¯
Earthworks Site Preparation
(landforms, erosion control) (remediation, covering layers)
¯
Revegetation
(species selection, plant establishment)
¯
Nutrient Accumulation and Cycling
(fertilizers, legumes, symbionts etc.)
¯
Indigenous volunteer species
(introduction or natural colonisation)
¯
Adaptive Management
(replanting, fire and pest management etc.)
¯
Monitoring
(what and how sampled?)
¯
Assessment of Success Criteria
(measurement, feedback to preceding stages)
From these, it can be seen that it is absolutely necessary to have restoration objectives that
have unambiguous operational definitions (technically feasible), which are ecologically
sound (scientifically valid) and socially relevant, and that are accessible to measurement and
prediction . The ecosystem characteristics usually measured are those related to the
composition, structure, and pattern of the vegetation .An assumption is that if the structure of
vegetation is similar to the desired ranges set for those variables (whether derived from a
reference area or not) then the “related” functional characteristics will also be satisfactory
(Table 5). The cost and length of time over which measurements need to be made usually
mean that measurements of function are not used (Chambers et al. 1992). However, it should
be recognized that some important structural measurements are also not usually made
(Chambers et al. 1994). In particular, measurements concerning plant root architecture
including mycorrhizae, the structure of the soil biotic community, and animal species
numbers are not usually made, even though they can often provide important indications of
long-term productivity and successional pathways (Chambers and Wade 1992).
Table 4. Ecosystem characteristics for consideration as

ecological restoration objectives (adapted from Hobbs
(1999)).
1. Composition: species presence and their relative abundance
2. Structure: vertical arrangement of vegetation and soil components
3. Pattern: horizontal arrangement of system components
4. Heterogeneity: a variable composing of characteristics 1–3
5. Function: performance of basic ecosystem processes (energy capture, water
retention, nutrient cycling)
6. Species Interactions, e.g., pollination, seed dispersal etc.
7. Dynamics and resilience: succession and state-transition processes, ability to recover
from normal episodic disturbance events (e.g., floods, drought, fire)
The ecological considerations needed for practical restoration planning, summarized in Fig.
2, must be considered in some detail in relation to situations where topsoil has been lost or
retained within the mining and waste disposal operations. 1 In the restoration of sites where
the topsoil has been lost, the major ecological challenges are still concerned with plant
species–substrate interactions, i.e., revegetation. Restoration practice where topsoil has been
retained focuses less on vegetation establishment and more on the spatial and temporal
factors affecting species colonization and establishment, the criteria for monitoring and
assessing success, particularly in the longer term, and the restoration of natural in-digenous
ecosystems on mined land. In the following sections the examples, case studies, and
discussion reflect these different perspectives. However, it should always be remembered that
adaptive restoration planning is site specific and the ecological knowledge base plays a
continually active and critical role. Thus, any of the ideas presented and discussed below may
be found to have relevance in preventing the failure of any particular restoration project.
1
DEFINING GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

Setting appropriate goals is a critical step in the development of an effective project.
Ecosystems are dynamic, and continually changing over time and space. A common long-
term goal or desired future condition for restoration is that the ecosystem looks and functions
as it did before it was damaged or degraded, although exact replication of past conditions is
rarely possible. Additionally, a similar ecosystem in good or excellent condition or a
reference ecosystem can be used in defining a goal (Gayton, 2001).
The mission of every ecological restoration project is to re-establish a functional ecosystem

of a designated type that contains sufficient biodiversity to continue its maturation by natural
processes and to evolve over longer time spans in response to changing environmental
conditions (Clewell et. al., 2000). An important goal of ecological restoration is to accelerate
natural successional processes so as to increase biological productivity, reduce rates of soil
erosion, increase soil fertility and increase biotic control over biogeochemical fluxes within
the recovering ecosystems (Singh et. al., 2002). It is a technology whose primary tool is the
self-designing ecosystem and then development of new self-sustainable ecosystems, native to
the area where mining occurred, with respect to structure, species composition and function,
as well as being integrated into the both human and ecological value (Jorgensen and Mitsch,
2003).
4.1. Establishing Desired Future Condition:
Desired future condition is a commonly used term for describing a restoration goal, or end-
point. The desired future condition may be an ecosystem that functions and looks like it did
historically, before it was disturbed. In contrast, the desired future condition may describe a
new reality that takes into account human presence and impacts that cannot be redressed. For
example, open pit and subside area may never be removed from some ecosystems, but it is
possible to reduce or limit their extent. Conversely, certain large predators or rare plants and
certain species may never be restored to some ecosystems, so the desired future condition
would describe a relatively healthy ecosystem that is missing some of its former diversity
(Douglas, 2002).
Constructing a desired future condition is a fundamental step in a restoration project. The

desired future condition is usually constructed using a variety of sources, such as reference
ecosystems, knowledge of the former natural disturbance regime and the natural range of
variability, local knowledge, historical references and maps, scientific literature, on-site clues,
and professional opinion.
4.2. Reference Ecosystems:
Reference ecosystems, whether contemporary or historical, can often be of assistance in

developing goals. A reference ecosystem is an actual ecosystem or its conceptual model that
is used in setting goals and planning a restoration project, and later its evaluation. In other
situations, the reference ecosystem is assembled from multiple sites and from other sources
such as undisturbed or less disturbed contemporary “reference” areas and historical landscape
descriptions can be used in the development of restoration goals (SER and IUCN, 2004).
Plant, animal, soil, and water data from these reference ecosystems provide useful templates
for restoration work on mined sites (Gayton, 2001).
. In its simplest form the reference ecosystem is an actual site, its written or oral description,
or both. In other situations, the reference ecosystem is assembled from multiple sites and
from other sources. In parts of the world where there is a lack of an actual reference
ecosystem, or in situations where it is unclear which ecosystem over time would serve as an
adequate reference, a more conceptual approach is required. It should be noted that the
concept of the reference is a dynamic one, and that, typically, the reference represents a point
of advanced development that lies somewhere along the intended ecological trajectory of the
restored ecosystem (George D. Gann, 2001).
A reference ecosystem or reference serves as a model for planning a restoration project, and
later for its evaluation. In its simplest form, the reference is an actual site, its written
description, or both. The problem with a simple reference is that it represents a single state or
expression of ecosystem attributes. The references that have been selected could have been
manifested as any one of the many potential states that fall within the historic range of
variation of that ecosystem. The reference reflects particular combination of stochastic events
that occurred during ecosystem development.(SER ,2000)
Sources of information that can be used to describe the reference include:
1. Ecological descriptions, species lists and maps of the project site prior to damage;
2. Historical and recent aerial and ground level photographs; remnants of the site to be
restored, indicating previous physical conditions and biota;
3. Remnants of the site to be restored, indicating previous physical conditions and biota;
4. Ecological descriptions and species lists of similar intact ecosystems;
5. Herbarium and museum specimens;
6. Historical accounts and oral histories by persons familiar with the project site prior to
damage;
7. Paleological evidence, e.g. fossil pollen, charcoal, tree ring history, rodent maidens.
The value of the reference increases with the amount of information it contains, but every
inventory is comprised by limitations of time and funding. Minimally .a baseline ecologically
inventory describes the salient attributes of the abiotic environment and important aspects of
biodiversity such as species composition and community structure. (Andre Clewell, James
Aronson, Keith Winterhalder, 2004)
The description of a reference is complicated by two factors that should be reconciled
to assure its quality and usefulness. Firstly, a reference site is normally selected for its well
developed expression of biodiversity, whereas a site in the process of restoration typically
exhibits an earlier ecological stage. Second, where the goal of restoration is a natural
ecosystem, nearly all available references will have suffered some adverse human mediated
impacts that should not be emulate. (David Lamba,2001)
These long term restoration goals are supported with more short-term objectives, or targets.
Restoration of landscape destroyed by mining is very often understood as a technical problem
only, a matter of finding economical ways of achieving a few simple objectives [Bradshaw,
1987]:
 Stabilization of land surfaces,

 Pollution control,
 Visual improvement, and
 General amenity, in order to preserve the structures of interest and to prevent the land
being unpleasant for the people that use it.
When establishing these goals and objectives, it is important to have an understanding of the
scale of restoration (ecosystem processes, habitat, and/or individual species), processes of
ecological succession, and the concepts of natural disturbance regimes and the natural range
of variability. Restoration objectives will be as explicit as possible about the scale and time
frame for restoration, and will be measurable so that progress towards the goals can be
assessed [Holt, 2000].
4.3. ECOSYSTEM CHARECTERISTICS (HOBBS, 1999):

1. Composition: species presence and there relative abundance
2. Structure: vertical arrangement of vegetation and soil components
3. Pattern: horizontal arrangement of system components
4. Heterogeneity: a variable composing of characteristics 1-3
5. Function: performance of basic ecosystem process (energy capture, water retention,
nutrient cycling)
6. Species interactions, e.g., pollination, seed dispersal etc.
7. Dynamic and resilience: succession and state transition process, ability to recover from
normal episodic disturbance events (e.g. floods, drought, fire)
PRINCIPLES OF RESTORATION
Ecological restoration is a well established practice in biodiversity conservation and

ecosystem management (SER and IUCN, 2004). The restoration of derelict land is really not
an important scientific activity; it is just a technical problem, for achieving restoration goals
and objectives (Lhota and Sklenicka, 2002). The basic principles of land and ecosystem
restoration are the same as the basic principles of ecological succession. The essential quality
of restoration is however, that it is an attempt to overcome artificially the factors that we
consider will restrict ecosystem development (Bradshaw, 1987).
Restoration of mining wasteland is a complicated systematic project [Liu, 1995] which often
requires human assistance, especially for the metal-mined tailings dams, if the restoration
goal is expected to achieve within a reasonable timeframe [Li, 2005]. Human activities may
regulate the process and thus expedite succession or change its direction. In order to hasten
ecological succession, an emphasis should be put on the following aspects (Gao et. al., 1998):
a) Selection of drought-resistant, sterility-tolerant and fast-growing crops or herbage to

grow on mining wasteland;
b) After stabilization of wasteland substrate to an acceptable level, planting of several
kinds of grasses to quickly cover the wasteland or intercropping: rotating grass with
leguminous crops to combine cultivation with restoration of soil fertility;
c) Based on element composition and soil, fertility reconstruction of a self-sustained
ecosystem with assistance from proper application of water and fertilizers, especially
microbe fertilizers;
d) Planting of diversified crops and fruit trees, and integration of agriculture with
forestry, animal husbandry and sidelines according to local conditions to
comprehensively utilize mining wasteland.
The broader view of ecological restoration, emphasized that it is a “process”, driven by

ecological knowledge and research and not just the means of producing a “product”, e.g., the
restored pre-mining ecosystem (Cook and Johnson, 2002). From this perspective ecological
restoration is about a broad set of activities (enhancing, repairing, or reconstructing degraded
ecosystems (Fig. 1)) appropriate to the specific types (or severity) of disturbances and not the
outcomes per se of such activities (Hobbs and Hopkins, 1990; Cairns, 1991; Hobbs and
Norton, 1996). Within this broad overview of restoration activities, the restoration of mined
land can largely be considered as ecosystem reconstruction, re-establishment of the capability
of the land to capture and retain fundamental resources (energy, water, nutrients, and species).
In nearly all cases, the resilience of the pre-mining ecosystem has been compromised
(Westman, 1991) and the recovery process, when left to natural succession, is often too slow
(Bradshaw, 1990; Hobbs and Norton, 1996). This view of restoration as a process is regarded
as more appropriate to current thinking of succession: that it is not governed by any holistic
or universal law (Miles, 1987) and recognizes multi-directional pathways for any given
succession, driven by stochastic processes without assumption of either long-term stability or
any one equilibrium endpoint (Glenn-Lewin and Maarel, 1992).
Enhancing Conservation Value in Disturbed Landscapes

e.g. tackling overgrazing, alien species invasion, pollution, and decreasing landscape
fragmentation; the introduction of semi-natural areas (patches and corridors) within
agricultural or commercial forestry landscapes
Repairing Degraded Land

e.g. improving the productivity and biodiversity of land with soil erosion or salinization
problems
Reconstruction of Highly Degraded Sites

e.g. amelioration of substrates where the original soil is lost and introducing vegetation where
it is absent
Fig.2. The continuum of general ecological restoration effort from enhancement to

reconstruction [Hobbs and Norton, 1996].
Restoration efforts require a thorough understanding of the ecological principles and

community- level processes with ecosystem function. The first step to any restoration is to
protect the disturbed habitats and communities from being further degraded and from losing
extant genes. Restoration provides an acid test because each time we undertake restoration,
we are seeing whether, in the light of our knowledge, we can recreate ecosystems that
function and function properly (Bradshaw 1987). The following six fundamental principles
should be observed: (a) legislation; (b) ecological risk evaluation; (c) minimization; (d)
resource regeneration; (f) harmlessness and purification; (g) restoration of ecosystem.
Restoration of open-pit mines includes two stages, engineering reclamation and biological
reclamation. Also, it requires that mining technology, ecological technology and
biotechnology be integrated. The processes involved in reclamation are shown in Fig. 2 (Ma,
1995).
From a practical view point, the following considerations are important: (i) speed of
attainment, (ii) cost, (iii) reliability in attainment and (iv) stability (implying minimum
maintenance of the final product). Except for speed, nature meets these criteria unassisted
through natural succession (Bradshaw, 1987).
Legislation Ecological risk Minimization Resource Harmlessness Restoration of

evaluation regeneration and purification ecosystem
Ecological restoration Establishment of legislation systems

The 6 principle of ecological restoration
Stripping techniques Screening of crop varieties
Parameter of peeled off field Screening of vegetation

Engg. Restoration Biological Restoration
Water engineering Vegetation technique
New land construction Fertilizing new land
Restoration of mining ecosystems
Fig. 3. The process and methods of ecological restoration in mines (Ma, 1995).
Successful restoration demands that consideration be given to the landscape setting in which
the system occurs (Brinson, 1993; Bedford, 1996). Restoration projects that address the
effects of alterations that have occurred within the landscape as a result of human
development can deal directly with the causes of degradation rather than just the symptoms.
As understanding of landscape ecology and its importance to restoration develops, it becomes
increasingly clear that the integration of restoration projects within the landscape context is
essential to producing ecosystems that function in a dynamic and resilient manner.
The pre-disturbance ecological function and related chemical, physical, and biological
conditions of a naturalistic system is difficult to establish [Magnuson et al., 1980; Cairns,
1988; Lewis, 1989]. Ecological restoration is a holistic process that cannot be achieved by
manipulation of a few species and/or particular chemical/physical processes (Cairns, 2005).
Key to ecosystem recovery is the restoration of internal processes, as well as ecosystem

components (such as rare species, or important habitat features). Implicit in any restoration
project is that the cause(s) of ecosystem degradation are identified and controlled (Gayton,
2001). It may also require long-term efforts, such as reintroducing native species, removing
exotic species, or reinstating natural processes including nutrient cycle and floods. A common
concept in restoration is to provide assistance in the context of our incomplete knowledge of
how ecosystems function. Given time and removal of degrading agents, natural processes will
accomplish most of the work.
6. COMPONENTS OF RESTORATION
Mine site restoration is presented as an ideal case study for developing an ecosystem starting
from point zero on “terra nova” (Huttl and Weber, 2001). Mine site restoration comprises
three components: determination of end land use, determining the main limiting factors for
restoration and means of alleviating them, and finally planning and implementation of the
restoration programme.
6.1. End Land Use:
A clear definition of the end land use is a prerequisite for effective land restoration. This will
determine the stakeholders, the scope for restoration, the key constraints that have to be
alleviated, and help define the goals for determining success. Whilst setting end land use is
necessary in order to develop tangible goals for restoration, there are also merits in a
somewhat flexible or adaptive rather than a prescriptive approach (Bell, 2002). Restoration of
a complete ecosystem, its flora and fauna, and its function, is a markedly more complex task
than restoration of a stable surface or creating a pasture for low intensity grazing (Hobbs and
Norton, 1996). The former may require decades of systematic research before restoration
goals can be reliably accomplished and demonstrably sustainable. Prior land use and current
use of the surrounding areas will generally determine the end land use except where the
substrate or landscape is so radically altered by degrading processes as to make this
impossible. On highly disturbed sites following mining, a great diversity of end land uses is
possible. Apart from restoration of natural ecosystems, that is an end land use goal in many
mining situations (Bell, 1998; Mulligan, 1998); agriculture, forestry, housing, industry,
amenity and recreation, wetlands, and waste disposal are all possible end land uses
(Bradshaw, 1988; McRae, 1998).
Here, economic and socio-political factors have a major bearing on end land use. In general,
when a mine is not isolated from surrounding communities or is in a relatively heavily
populated area. In such cases the restoration objectives need to be defined in close
consultation with local communities, as these are the people who will have to use the restored
land in perpetuity after the company is gone (Cooke and Johnson, 2002). Land use can be
changed – society can decide to change the land use on a restored mined land from crops to
housing or industrial estates, but mines have an obligation to ensure that no net loss in land
capability occurs. This must be the primary objective in restoring mined land. Where land
capability is not preserved, society is deprived of choice (Limpitlaw et. al., 2005).
6.2. Limitation of Restoration:

The variations in the climate and physical and biological composition from area to area imply
that every eco-restoration process is an experiment and it can rarely be replicated. The
variation starts from the soil or at least the subsurface into which plants must establish and
root, which is usually extremely skeletal on derelict sites, and its properties and situation
determine in a very crucial manner the degree to which an ecosystem can develop naturally
on the site, how far this development will progress, and what treatments are necessary to
assist its development. Even at a particular site, there may be specific limiting factors which
may play some role in limiting the rate of succession and ecological development. These
limiting factors may be physical, chemical or biological. Physical factors may include
climate, type of substratum (e.g. bed rock), slope, texture, and moisture content of the
substratum. Chemical limiting factors comprise of pH, nutrient composition and presence of
toxicity. Biological limitations include the immigration factor, mode of propagation and
dispersal, capability of species to withstand adverse conditions and availability of natural
species in immediate surroundings.
6.2.1. Biophysical Factors Limiting Land Restoration:
6.2.1.1. Climatic:
Climate sets the underlying growing conditions for plants in land restoration and in a broad
sense determines the range of species suited to survive and grow in a particular location. In
arid and semi-arid zones, rainfall and temperature will be a serious limiting factor for
restoration, limited rainfall during the growing season and high surface temperature often
limit plant establishment and growth. The beginning of reliable rainfall and its duration are all
important considerations in determining when to plant (Singh et. al., 2002). Revegetation of
such areas can probably be accomplished only with major, sustained inputs of water,
fertilizers and management (MacMahon, 1987). The year-to-year variability in rainfall and
temperature, as well as diurnal temperature variation, need to be considered when planning
land restoration. Variability determines the risk of episodic events such as erosive rainfall or
erosive wind events that may damage land restoration. Similarly in areas of uncertain rainfall,
the frequency of drought and its effects on success of plant establishment and survival are
necessary parts of the land restoration programme (Bell, 2000).
6.2.1.2. Landform:
The prime consideration in restoration is slope stability and effective erosion control. The
important components of landform that limit restoration are slope, elevation, aspect and
drainage. Restoring pre-disturbance landform is probably the best strategy but in mining
increases in elevation and slope commonly occur and this necessarily increases erosion risk
and alters hydrology. Mine soils with slopes greater than 15% are generally unsuitable for
intensive land uses such as vegetation or crop production. Broad flat benches and fills with
slopes less than that 2% often have seasonal wetness problems (Daniels, 1999). Engineering
measures to stabilized soils, or to prevent erosive water run-off will often be necessary to
achieve a stable non-eroding surface. Topography of the affected site may need to be
modified to restore the area to the desired land use, to eliminate any potential hazard to the
public, to reestablish proper surface drainage pattern, or a combination thereof [Wali et. al.,
2002]. However, re-shaping landforms to reduce slopes or improve aesthetic appeal of
restored land are expensive operations and need to be well justified before being undertaken
(Bell, 2002).
6.2.1.3. Topsoil:
Soil is an important natural resource that needs to be preserved and if possible, its quality and
productivity capacity must be improved (Izquierdo et. al., 2005). Mining activity, for
example, may be considered a major threat to soil physical and biological quality. Restoration
planning models recognize that for most mine restoration programmes, an overriding
consideration has been whether topsoil has been retained or lost. Generally, in many places
the top soil had been lost (Johnson and Bradshaw, 1979; Bradshaw, 1990).
Topsoil is a strategic resource that should be conserved if at all possible. Thus its removal,
storage and replacement have been subject to a great deal of technical research in recent
times in an effort to protect the physical and chemical properties and the biological processes
of this valuable natural resource (Cooke and Johnson, 2002). In the restoration of sites where
topsoil has been lost, a great deal of ingenuity was therefore devoted to finding ways in
which the raw wastes themselves could be turned into satisfactory soil (Bradshaw and Huttl,
2001). In such case major ecological challenges are still related to the interactions between
plant species and substrate – that is, revegetation. Yet in these cases faithful restoration of
original ecosystems is rare.
6.2.1.4. Hydrology:
The key element of ecological restoration in mined area is water. Any clearing or significant
disturbance of vegetation alters hydrology. In mine areas, natural variations in water flow is
due to the obliteration of natural drainage pattern. Water change its route, causing water
logging and subsequent tree deaths in some areas, and enhance tree growth and seedling
establishment in other areas where the water level drops down (Kuuluvainen, 2002). Other
changes in hydrology include increased profile water storage and increased groundwater
recharge.
Water, either too much or too little, can obviously cause problems. Excess water can lead to
saturation of the soil, anaerobiosis and death of vegetation significant changes in surface and
groundwater hydrology occurs by mining. Increases in elevation and slope created on waste
rock or overburden dumps accelerate water run-off and erosion. This may necessitate an
increased drainage density in revegetated mine sites to achieve hydrological stability (Bell,
1990). Voids created by mining may intercept groundwater and can fill with it. In many
places filling of the voids has created an opportunity for the establishment of wetlands using
appropriate wetland species, which thereby contribute to the conservation of biodiversity
(Bradshaw, 1997). But when the void exposes sulfide ores, the water body may become
extremely acidic and require special treatment to ameliorate the problem or to prevent
discharge of this water into downstream environments.
6.2.2. Substrate Properties:
Compared to normal soils, mining substrates derived from deep in the earth or wastes
produced from the processing of the minerals can present extreme challenges to the
colonization by plants and the formation of any kind of self-sustaining ecosystem. The
physical and chemical nature of the substrates from mining operations is such that a
fundamental basis for restoration, that of establishing vegetation, can be extremely difficult in
the absence of either fresh soil as a cover material or of some other suitable alternative
material for capping, amending, or dilution of mining substrates (Johnson et. al., 1994).
Restoration of mine sites often entails amelioration (improving) physical and chemical
characteristics of substrates and ensuring the return of vegetation cover (Singh et. al., 2002).
6.2.2.1. Physical Properties:
Land degradation due to mining often alters the soil physical conditions in ways that decrease
its suitability for plant establishment and growth, particularly by changing water storage and
availability.
On mine sites, the use of non-soil materials such as overburden, waste rock or ore refining
residues as substrates for plant growth results in extreme physical properties that are difficult
to revegetate. Coarse residues such as those from mineral sands have low water holding
capacity and are prone to wind erosion. Wind erosion selectively removes clay and humus
from the soil surface, increasing the prevalence of coarse materials. Waste rock also has
limited water retention because of the limited proportion of fines in the substrate. By contrast,
finely-milled residues such as those from gold or bauxite ore have poor drainage and
therefore are prone in wet climates to water logging. Overburden usually lacks structure and
may exhibit dispersive behavior. Erosion risk on such materials is high when the ground
surface is sloping. Crusting at the surface of such dispersive material will also limit
recruitment of plants from direct seeding (Bell, 2002).
6.2.2.2. Chemical Properties:
Nutrient levels, acidity, alkalinity, salinity, sodicity and toxic metals and organic compounds
are the chemical factors in soils and substrates that can limit plant growth and therefore
hamper effective land restoration (Bell, 1999). At extremes of pH, availability of specific
nutrients is often low and fertilizer application may not be very effective. In these situations,
soil amendments to change soil pH may be effective in correcting nutrient deficiencies. For
example, at extreme acidity, lime application to increase pH will decrease levels of soil
solution Al3+, and in so doing increase availability of deficient elements such as P, Mo and
Ca. Alternatively it may be necessary to limit plant species grown on these substrates to those
adapted to such extreme conditions.
Salinity is a common limiting factor in semi-arid and arid environments. Irrigation is the most
common cause of salinity. Even low concentrations of salt in irrigation water can cause
salinity to develop if salt is allowed to accumulate in the root zone. Alleviation of salinity and
restoration of land productivity requires monitoring of the quality of water, efforts to increase
water use efficiency so that the amount of water used is reduced, and finally drainage systems
are designed to prevent capillary rise of salt and facilitate leaching of salts. In semi-arid and
arid environments, soils and overburden materials may be naturally saline. The use of these
materials for revegetation requires strategies for managing salinity. The salts in substrates
may leach over time provided the soils are reasonably well drained, and there is no significant
capillary rise of salts. However, since many of these substrates are also sodic, attempts to
leach are counterproductive since it induces dispersion that in turn decreases hydraulic
conductivity and reduces leaching potential. Addition of gypsum and organic matter are often
reliable means of treatment for sodic material (Bell et al., 1995). Alternatively, growing salt
tolerant species may be the only cost effective means of revegetation, even though this means
a significantly different species mix to that which existed before disturbance (Ho et al., 1999).
In certain areas, the main factor in preventing vegetation from becoming established is acidity
(Dick and Sutton, 1987). During strip-mining, strata in the overburden are exposed, that may
contain iron disulfide (FeS2, pyrite) minerals (Hill, 1978). These minerals, when exposed to
air and moisture, oxidize to produce acid and soluble salts (Singer and Stumm, 1970). The
final pH is affected by the amount and type of pyrite present and the acidity of the various
potential buffering systems. Pyrite oxidation and hydrolysis give rise to large amounts of H+
ions which, by decomposition and exchange reactions with other spoil minerals, can give rise
to high concentration of Al, Mn, Fe, Zn and Cu (Barnhisel and Massey, 1972). Therefore,
toxic concentrations of Al, Mn and Fe may occur where pH is low. Toxic levels of metals,
apart from Al and Mn, in natural unpolluted soils are rare although not unknown. On
overburden and low grade ore from base and precious metal mines, and on polluted soils,
extremely high levels of heavy metals can be a major limiting factor. High levels of heavy
metals are often associated with extreme acidity. Lime treatment, and adding P fertilizer or
organic matter may decrease both acidity and soil solution levels of phyto-toxic heavy metal
species; however, the effectiveness of these strategies is limited. Selection of plants with high
tolerances of these toxicities is often the most cost-effective strategy of revegetation.
However, the preferred modern practice in mining is to identify these materials and
selectively place them in waste dumps where there is no contact with the root zone. The
related practice of phyto-remediation involves the growing of plants that are tolerant of heavy
metals and actively absorb them from the soil. In this way phyto-remediation may reduce the
heavy metal loading of soils however, the technology is still relatively new and needs further
testing (McGrath, 2000). Phyto-remediation is also being developed to accelerate the in situ
bio-degradation of organic pollutants.
6.2.2.3. Biological Properties:
Soils contain a vast diversity of organisms. This aspect of biodiversity is poorly understood.
Similarly the consequences of land degradation for soil biodiversity and soil ecological
function are poorly understood. Soil microorganisms such as rhizobium respond very
sensitively to heavy metal loading of soils from land application of biosolids: more
sensitively than the growth of plants. Mining activities and topsoil storage have quite
profound negative effects on microbial biomass and activity (Jasper et al., 1998). Restoration
of microbial biomass may take 7- 10 years on revegetated mine sites. However, the effects of
less drastic ecosystem disturbance on soil ecological functions are not well understood. Use
of substrates for land restoration with low levels of rhizobium inoculum or mycorrhiza may
limit the success of restoration by hampering nutrient accumulation and hence decreasing
productivity of the vegetation and impeding effective nutrient cycling. Careful handling and
re-use of topsoil can often minimize the problems associated with decreased soil biological
activity after land restoration. Soil biological activity is impaired by disturbance or handling,
but maximum activity is retained if topsoil is re-used immediately without a period of storage
(Bell, 2002).
6.2.2.4. Nutritional Problem:
The waste materials produced by mining operations have many different characteristics,
related to the type of material being mined and the geology of the associated strata, and their
origin within the mining operation. They can be weathered subsoil or deeper unweathered
overburdens; they are therefore likely to vary widely in their inherent nutrient content
(Bradshaw, 1992). It is imperative that their chemistry is understood. It is possible that they
are rich in certain plant nutrients although deficient in others. They will inevitably be
seriously deficient in nitrogen. Wherever problems of nutrients arise, the possibility of using
sources other than fertilizers should be considered. These can be waste products such as
sewage sludge, not only high in nitrogen but also in other important nutrients such as
phosphorus, as well as organic matter. A single large application of sewage sludge can
overcome most of the nutrient problems likely to be found in mine materials (Byrom and
Bradshaw, 1991). Other sources can be wastes produced by the mining operation itself such
as fine slurries form washing processes, etc. Any such products may be a useful source of
missing nutrients that are otherwise hard to replace and should therefore be carefully assessed
for this.
RESTORATION PLANNING
Planning is conducted when restoration appears to a feasible option but before a decision has
been made to exercise that option (Clewell, 2000). A degraded ecosystem can be considered
to have been restored when it regains sufficient biotic and abiotic resources to sustain it
structure, ecological processes and functions with minimal external assistance. It will than
demonstrate resilience to normal ranges of environmental stress and disturbance. It will
interact with contiguous ecosystems in terms of biotic and abiotic flows and social and
economic interactions (IUCN and SER, 2004). Ecological restoration with biodiversity
benefits in mind must involve an orderly set of considerations that promote successful
procedures and practices (Cooke and Johnson, 2002).
7.2. Strategy for Restoration Planning:
The following points should be addressed while formulating the restoration programme for a
given site (SER, 2004):
 Why restoration is needed;

 An ecological description of the site designated for restoration;
 A statement of the goals and objectives of the restoration projects;
 A designation and description of the reference;
 An explanation of how the proposed restoration will integrate with the landscape
and its flows of organisms and materials;
 Explicit plans, schedules and budgets for site preparation, installation and post
installation activities, including a strategy for making prompt mid-course
correction;
 Well-developed and explicitly stated performance standards, with monitoring
protocols by which the project can be evaluated;
 Strategy for long term protection and maintenance of the restored ecosystem.
7.3. STAGES OF CONCEPTUAL PLANNING (Johnson et al., 1994, Australian

RESTORATION GOAL
(POSSIBLE AND SUSTAINABLE ,MEETING LOCAL NEEDS AT RESONABLE
COST)
|
RESTORATION OBJECTIVES
(ECOSYSTEM ATTRIBUTES PRIORITIES)
|
MEASURABLE SUCCESS CRITERIA
(WHAT CRITERIA OVER WHAT TIME SCALE?)
environment protection agency, 1994)
|
TOP SOIL RETAINED TOP SOIL LOST OR BURRIED

(EG.STRIP MINING) (EG. TAILING DAMS)
CLEARING EXISTING VEGETATION ASSESMENT OF WASTE/SITE

(NEEDED AS SEED SOURCE/MULCH ETC) (PHYSICAL,CHEMICAL,BIOLOGICAL)
TOPSOIL HANDLING
(STRIPPING ,STORING ,REINSTATEMENT)
EARTHWORKS SITE PREPARATION

(LAND FORMS,EROSION CONTROL) (REMEDIATION ,COVERING LAYERS)
|
REVEGETATION
(SPECIES SELECTION AND PLANT ESTABLISHMENT)
|
NUTRIENT ACCUMULATION AND CYCLING
(FERTILIZERS ,LEGUMES ETC)
|
INDIGENOUS VOLUNTEER AND SPECIES
(INTRODUCTION OR NATURAL COLONISATION)
|
ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT
(REPLANTING,FIRE AND PEST MANAGEMENT ETC)
|
MONITORING
(WHAT AND HOW SAMPLED)
|
ASSESSMENT OF SUCCESS CRITERIA
(MEASUREMENT ,FEEDBACK TO PRECEDING STAGES)
Conceptual planning identifies the reasons why restoration is needed and the general strategy
for conducting it. Conceptual planning is conducted when restoration appears to be a feasible
option but before a decision has been made to exercise that option. The written conceptual
plan captures the essence and character of the potential restoration.
1. Identify the project site location and its boundaries.
2. Identify ownership. The name and address of the land owner is given.
3. Identify the need for restoration.
4. Identify the kind of ecosystem to be restored and the type of restoration project.
5. Identify restoration goals, if any that pertain to social and cultural values.
6. Identify physical site conditions in need of repair.
7. Identify stressors in need of regulation or reinitiating.
8. Identify biotic interventions that are needed.
9. Identify landscape restrictions, Present and future.
10. Identify project funding sources.
11. Identify labor sources and equipment needs.
12. Identify biotic resource needs.
13. Identify the need for securing permits required by government agencies.
14. Identify permit specifications, deed restrictions, and other legal constraints. (Andre
Clewell, 2000)
7.4PRELIMINARY TASKS
PRELIMINARY TASKS are those upon which project planning depend .These tasks form the
foundation for well conceived restoration designs and programs. Preliminary tasks are
fulfilled after conceptual planning results in the decision to proceed with the restoration
project.
1. Appoint a restoration ecologist who is responsible for the technical aspects of

restoration.
2. Appoint the restoration team
3. Prepare a budget to accommodate the completion of preliminary tasks
4. Document existing project site conditions and describe the biota.
5. Document project site history that led to the need for restoration.
6. Conduct pre project monitoring as needed.
7. Gather base line ecological information and conceptualize a reference ecosystem from
it upon which the restoration will be modeled and revaluated.
8. Gather pertinent auto –ecological information for key species.
9. Conduct investigations as needed to asses the effectiveness of restoration methods.
10. Decide if ecosystem goals are realistic or if they need modification.
11. Prepare a list of objectives designed to achieve restoration goals.
12. Secure permits required by regulatory and zoning authorities.(John Rieger,2000)
7.5INSTALLATION PLANNING
Installation plans describe how the project will be implemented, i.e., project design. The care
and thoroughness with which installation planning is conducted will be reflected by how
aptly project objectives are realized.
1. Describe the interventions that will be needed to attain each objective

2. State how much of the restoration can be accomplished passively.
3. Prepare performance standards and monitoring protocols to measure the attainment of
each objective.
4. Schedule the tasks needed to fulfill each objectives.
5. Procure equipment, supplies, and biotic resources.
6. Prepare a budget for installation tasks, maintenance events, and contingencies
(Andre Clewell, 2000).
7.5. INSTALLATION TASKS

Project installation fulfills installation plans. If planning was thorough and supervision
adequate, installation will generally proceed smoothly and within budget. (SER, 2000)
1. Mark boundaries and secure the project area.

2. Install monitoring features.
3. Implement restoration objectives.
7.6. POST INSTALLATION TASKS

The attainment of objectives may depend as much on follow up activities as is it does to the
care given to initial installation activities. The importance of post installation work cannot be
overemphasized (Andre Clewell, John Munro, John Rieger,2004)
1. Protect the project site against vandals and herb ivory.

2. Perform post –implementation maintenance.
3. Reconnoiter the project site regularly to identify needs for min mid course
corrections.
4. Perform monitoring as required to document the attainment of performance standards.
5. Implement adaptive management procedures as needed.
7.7. EVALUATION
The installation of a project does not guarantee that its objectives will be attained or its goals
achieved. Restoration differs from most civil engineering projects for which the results are
most predictable. Restored ecosystems are dynamic and require evaluation within the context
of an indefinite temporal dimension.
1. Assess monitoring data to determine if performance standards are being met.

2. Describe aspects of the restored ecosystem that are not covered by monitoring data.
3. Determine if project goals were met, including those for social and cultural values.
4. Publish an account of the restoration project and otherwise publicize it(Andre
Clewell, John Munro, John Rieger,2004)
7.8. Elements of Successful Projects:
Common elements of restoration include assessing the feasibility of the plan, developing the
plan, implementation, and monitoring. Successful restoration projects share several elements
(Brown, 2000 and Ritchlin, 2001):
 Understanding physical and biological processes, both those that are common to all
ecosystems of the type under consideration, and those that pertain specifically to the
site. Every site has special concerns that make it unique.
 Taking a landscape or watershed perspective. Local restoration efforts often relate to
the larger ecosystem, and must acknowledge land uses from outside the restoration
site that may influence project success.
 Setting clear goals and objectives. Goals and objectives need to be:
o Specific
o Achievable
o Measurable
o Understandable
o Flexible
 Early stakeholder and public involvement.
 Political support.
 Effective communication and education
 Monitoring and evaluation
The development of measurable criteria derived from the particular desired community and
ecosystem characteristics (as restoration objectives) for judging restoration success, have
proved difficult to establish (Johnson and Putwain 1981; Chambers and Wade 1992; Hobbs
and Norton 1996). Hobbs and Norton (1996) describe a sequence of events common to any
successful restoration project:
 Identify the processes underlying the degradation or decline;

 Define suitable restoration goals and objectives based on a reference ecosystem,
historic range of variability, and/or desired future condition;
 Develop treatment prescriptions to reverse or ameliorate the degradation or decline at
a spatial and temporal scale appropriate to the problem;
 Implement treatment prescriptions and monitor to ensure that they are followed;
 Identify and monitor key system variables and other easily observable measures of
treatment success;
 Review and summarize monitoring output, assess progress of restoration relative to
initial goals, and make adjustments, if necessary; and
 Communicate findings and incorporate them into future planning and management
strategies.
This will in all probability determine how quickly a pre-mining ecosystem can be restored
and whether such a restoration goal is ecologically possible and sustainable. Although it has
been emphasized that restoration should be conceptualized as a process, the product is still
important. It must be the starting point for any restoration project (i.e., restoring to what?)
and it is essential to define the product in a time frame (i.e., restored by when?). Such
practical considerations are necessary for, without them, unrealistic objectives both in
ecological and economic terms can be set (Cooke and Johnson, 2002).
A schematic view shows factors and standards that must be considered in restoring disturbed
area (fig.1); it also shows how science law work together in developing the appropriate
standards and procedure for ecological restoration (Davy and Perrow, 2002).
Site to be Restored Ecological

Criteria
Land Use Factor
Landform/ Slope/Drainage
Post Restoration Land Soil Composition and Quality
Pre-Restoration Site Use Option Erosion Potential
Characteristics Subsidence Potential
Native grass land Type of Vegetation
Climate zone (1,2,5,6,C,D,E,F) Terrestrial/aquatic
Geology Pasture land Herbaceous/woody
Hydrology (1,2,5,6,7,C,D,E) Natural / cultivated
Topography Crop land/Hayland Aesthetic / commercial
Surrounding land use (1,3,5,6,C,E,G) Animal habitat value
On-site/off-site impacts Wood land Species
Soil on-site/off-site (1,3,5,6,A,C,E,F,G,H) Native/introduced
Vegetation on-site/offsite Wildlife Seeded/planted/volunteer
Flora fauna (1,5,6,7,A,C,E,F,G,H) Growth form
Aesthetic value Recreational area Annual/perennial
Socio-economic consideration (1,3,4,5,7,8,A,C,H) Desirable/noxious
Seral /successional/climax
Regenerative / non-regenerative
Water Availability (for)
Data Analysis/ Irrigation
Restoration Feasibility Fish and wildlife
Zoning / Planning Groundwater recharge
Policies Recreational use
Post Restoration Land Landowner preference
Use Option Accessibility to and within
Science and
Technology Performance Standards
Appropriate topography restored
Simulation Models Available soil resource respread
to best Options Soil stabilize against erosion
Environmental Sustained productivity attained
Requirements Sufficient plant cover present
Species diversity, seasonality and
Best Land Use regenerative capacity to ensure
Option succession/sustainability
present
Laws / Rules Tree/shrub density, growth and
Regulatory vigour adequate
Requirements Proper habitats for fish and
wildlife created
Wetland vegetation established
Reconstruction Hydrological balance restored
Restoration Design Recreational facilities constructed
Plan
Regulatory/Technical Public comment

Approved plans Monitoring
Review and input
On-Site
Operations Site Inspections Restored Site
Fig.4. A flow diagram showing the centrality of ecological knowledge base and planning and
decision process for the restoration and management of degraded ecosystem [Davy and
Perrow, 2002]
RESTORATION PRACTICE
The large-scale land disturbances associated with mining operations and related concerns
about the environmental effects have triggered an increasing number of restoration
programmes which aim for the restoration of natural ecosystems disturbed by mining.
Restoration of mine sites often entails amelioration of physical and chemical characteristics
of substrate and ensuring the return of vegetation cover (Bradshaw, 1987; Schaller, 1993).
The establishment of vegetative cover on mine spoil is a challenging task due to problems
such as compaction, poor water-holding capacity, infertility, high acidity or salinity of soil
and extreme temperatures (Moffat and McNeill, 1994; Richards et al., 1996). If specific
problems hindering ecosystem redevelopment can be identified, a cure can be designed using
or mimicking natural processes. This process of identification and intervention is the essence
of ecological restoration (Dobson et al., 1997).
A conceptual restoration programme is illustrate in fig.1, this illustration model recognizes

that, the ecological considerations needed for practical restoration practice, must be
considered in some detail in relation to situations where topsoil has been lost or retained
within the mining and waste disposal operations. In the restoration of sites where the topsoil
has been lost, the major ecological challenges are still concerned with plant species–substrate
interactions, i.e., revegetation. Restoration practice where topsoil has been retained focuses
less on vegetation establishment and more on the spatial and temporal factors affecting
species colonization and establishment, the criteria for monitoring and assessing success,
particularly in the longer term, and the restoration of natural indigenous ecosystems on mined
land (Cooke and Johnson, 2002).
Overburden is the geologic material above mineral deposits and below the developed soil
horizons. Buried seeds and rhizomes are normally absent in overburden. This fact makes seed
reserves in the topsoil an important resource that, if handled correctly, can be used
successfully to recover disturbed areas by natural vegetation. Since most of the soil seed
reserves are found in the surface 5 to 10 cm, upper 5–10 cm topsoil is recommended to be
removed and replaced on the top of overburden material. However, the collection, storage
and use of topsoil for restoration of mine areas are limited in many parts of the world.
Therefore, recent restoration strategies have centered on creating soil that will support short-
term establishment of native plant species and will sustain long-term successional
development (Singh et. al., 2002).
Restoration Goal
(possible and sustainable, meeting local needs at reasonable cost)
Restoration Objectives
(ecosystem attribute priorities)
Measurable Success Criteria

(what criteria over what time scale?)
Topsoil Retained
(e.g. Strip mining) Topsoil Lost or Buried
(e.g. Tailings Dams)
Clearing Existing Vegetation

(needed as seed source/mulch etc.)
Assessment of Wastes/Site
Topsoil Handling physical, chemical, biological)
(stripping, storing, reinstatement)
Earthworks Site Preparation

(landforms, erosion control) (remediation, covering layers)
Revegetation
(Species selection, plant establishment)
Nutrient Accumulation and Cycling

(Fertilizers, legumes, symbionts etc.)
Indigenous volunteer species

(introduction or natural colonization)
Adaptive Management
(replanting, fire and pest management etc.)
Monitoring
(What and how sampled?)
Assessment of Success Criteria

(Measurement, feedback to preceding stages)
Fig.5. A conceptual restoration programme of a mined land [Johnson et. al., 1994; and
Australian Environment Protection Agency, 1995].
8.1. EXOTIC SPECIES:
An exotic species of plant or animal is one that was introduced in to an area where it did not
previously occur through relatively recent human activities.
Since ecological restoration of natural ecosystems attempts to recover as much historical
authenticity as can be reasonably accommodated, the reduction or elimination of exotic
species at restoration project sites is highly desirable. Nonetheless, financial and logical
constraints often exist, and it is important to be realistic and pragmatic in approaching exotic
species control.(Andre Clewell,2004)
In cultural landscapes, exotic species are frequently an integral part of the ecosystem,
particularly as crops and livestock and even as rudrels and segetals,that have presumably co-
evolved with these domesticated species. Such exotic species are acceptable for cultural
restoration.(James Aronson,2004)
In natural ecosystem, invasive exotic species commonly compete with and replace native
species. However not all exotic species are harmful, Indeed some even fulfill ecological roles
formerly placed by the native species that have become rare and extirpated (Andre Clewell,
2004).
Exotic plants have encroached in to many ecosystems and communities throughout the world,
disrupting ecosystem properties, reducing native biodiversity (Vitousek 1990; Vitousek et al.,
1997; Mack et al.2000).
Some exotic species were introduced centuries ago by human and non human agents and
have become naturalized, and their status as an exotic is debatable. Her species have migrated
in and out of the region in response to climatic fluctuations during the Holocene, and can
scarcely be regarded as exotic. Even if all exotic species are removed from a restoration site
the opportunity for reinvasion may become high. Therefore it becomes essential for a policy
to be developed for each exotic species present, based upon biological, economic and logical
and realities. Exotic plants also threaten restoration efforts and considerably monetary
resources (Hobbs and Humphries 1995; Hiebert 1997).
In some instances, on indigenous plants are used for a specific purpose in the restoration
project, for example as cover crops, nurse crops or nitrogen fixers (The SER, 2004).
8.2. RELATION BETWEEN RESTORATION PRACTICE AND RESTORATION

ECOLOGY
Ecological restoration is the practice of restoring ecosystems as performed by practitioners by

specific project sites, whereas restoration ecology is the science upon which it is based.
Restoration ecology ideally provides clear concepts, models, methodologies and tools for
practitioners in support of their practice. Some times the practitioner and ecologist is the
same person-the nexus of practice and theory. The field of restoration ecology is not limited
to direct service of restoration practice. Restoration ecologists can advance ecological theory
by using restoration project sites as experimental areas. For example, information derived
from project sites could be useful in resolving question spertaining to assembly rules of biotic
communities. Further, restored ecosystems can serve as references for set aside areas
designated as nature conservation (Tauli-Corpuz, 1997)
8.3. Top Soil Replacement:
The following discussion of restoration practice where topsoil has been retained focuses less
on revegetation and more on the ecological, spatial, and temporal factors affecting species
colonization and establishment. Topsoil management is the most important on-site practice
that affects plant establishment. Topsoil has diminished value for revegetation if it is stored
(Glossop and Tacey, 1980). Direct transfer of topsoil retains most of the characteristics of
undisturbed topsoil and achieves 53 % return of soil seed stores [Koch et al., 1996]. Top soil
is often the most important factor in the successful restoration of overburden dump heaps,
since the heterogeneous mixture lying in these dump heaps is very hostile from vegetation
point of view (Kundu & Ghose, 1996). The topsoil contains large number of viable seeds of
native species and propagules either from the same area or from the adjacent forest. With
topsoil application the microbial community speeds up ecosystem stability by reducing the
time required to establish nutrient cycling, soil aggregate formation, symbiotic relationships
with plants, and related functions. It has been estimated that with topsoil the microbial
activity increases to a value of 62 percent at a soil depth of 6 cm and 70 percent at a soil
depth of 14 cm. Modeling exercises have indicated that increasing the topsoil depth from 5
cm to 60 cm increased plant production by 24 percent (GES, 1997).
The simplest and basic treatment is to impart a new soil surface and cover up whatever is
wrong beneath. In progressive mining operations, it is becoming mandatory for surface soils
to be conserved, and replace later on so that a new ecosystem can quickly be established. The
process does demand considerable care to ensure that the topsoil and subsoil structures,
especially their macrostructure, are not damaged. However, it is commonly found that the
performance of ecosystems reconstructed on topsoil is inadequate. Experimentation shows
that the soil used after long storage is unable to sustain vigorous growth unless supplied with
extra nitrogen (Bloomfield et al., 1981). This can be due either to deterioration of the soil
during storage between gathering and re-spreading, or to excessive amounts of subsoil being
included in the material. Either way, the fragility of soil fertility, especially in relation to its
ability to provide nitrogen, is very clear by reclamation experience.
Mining operations should be planned so that the removal of topsoil from one area before
mining coincides with the replacement of topsoil at another. In this way topsoil is removed,
transported and spread in a single operation. In the topsoil removal and replacement
operation, a double stripping procedure should be used. Topsoil from 0-15 cm is removed
separately from the underlying overburden. At the site to be restored, overburden is spread
out first on the mine pit floor followed by topsoil. Collecting topsoil to 15 cm still involves
substantial mixing of the surface 5 cm layer which contains most of the seeds with the less
desirable layers underneath (Grant et al., 1996). Soil stored in dumps for several months
changes in nature considerably. It tends to become acidic and short of nitrogen and
phosphates, and its structure may be lost making it lifeless. It is often the practice to apply
lime over the spread sub-soil (Hartley, 1976). Since the subsoil is rooted in the same manner
as overburden, the result is distribution of lime to a good depth. Large stones which appear
after subsoil rooting are removed. Top soil is spread in the same manner as sub-soil. The
timing of soil spreading is important; if it is carried out under wet conditions, rutting will
occur and the spread will be uneven. It is preferable to have top soil graded sufficiently early
in the year for grass seed to be sown and some growth established to control soil erosion by
water and wind. Sub-soil should be spread in spring and lime should be added in pre-
monsoon (GES, 1997)
Table4 CONSIDERATIONS AND PRACTICE IN TOP SOIL CONSERVATION (Harris et

al.1996).
1.Depth and horizonation in relation to the need to handle

SOIL topsoil, subsoil and overburden separately
CHARACTERSTICS 2.Texture class ,plastic limits ,structural status and bulk
density in relation to loss of porosity and other physical and
biological changes during soil moving
Lifting transport and storage and reinstatement to avoid

SOIL MOVEMENT compactation, killing of soil animals and release of dormancy
of buried seed bank. Avoid spreading over dissimilar
underlying material to prevent hydraulic discontinuity and
slope instability.
1.Physical:loss of organic matter and alteration of binding of

soil particles; loss of aggregate stability and soil
compactation
CHANGES DURING 2. Chemical: centre of storage mound anaerobic conditions
STORAGE develop, ammonium nitrogen increases redox potential and
ph changes with the increase in organic acids, availability of
metals such as mn,cu,zn.
3.Biological:initial increase in bacterial populations in
response to dead fungal biomass, soil animals and plant roots
8.3.1. TOP SOIL AS THE STRATEGIC RESTORATION RESOURCE
The modern context of restoration as part of the total mining process involves carefully
planned decommissioning rather than the common past practice of simple abandonment.
Topsoil, other surface materials, and overburden from mine sites are today viewed as
strategic restoration resource that should be conserved if all at possible. Thus, their removal
replacement and storage have received much technical research in recent times. The main
reason for this is to protect their physical, chemical and biological properties (Harris et
al.1996).
The following discussion on practice of restoration where top soil has been retained focuses
less on revegetation and more on the ecological, spatial, and temporal factors affecting
species colonization and establishment. The criteria for monitoring and assessing success
,particularly in the longer term, for the restoration of natural indigenous ecosystems on mined
lands are also specifically considered.(Camp and Weisser,1991)
8.4. Restoration Where Top Soil Not Present:
In many situations, however, soil cannot be imported or replaced, and the material existing on
site has itself to be treated directly to achieve restoration. The following treatments can be
very effective in allowing rapid ecosystem development.
8.4.1 Physical Treatments:
These include preparation of seedbed for seed germination and seedling establishment
process. Fertilizer, mulch and stabilizer are often added. Use of organic matter and
earthworms are common in experiments of this sort. The objectives are to develop and
maintain an appropriate soil texture for drainage, aeration and other essential functions that
support the rooting and establishment of plants. Initially the treatment may be similar to the
agricultural treatment in order to stimulate the growth of both top and root in monsoon (GES,
1997). Treatment of soil with biofertiliser and mycorrhizal fungi is known to restore the
physical, chemical and biological properties of soils and is more economical (Juwarkar et al.,
1994). The increased root penetration breaks the soil and aids air movement, which in turn
starts the action of micro-organisms on the dead root. Over a period this leads to the
formation of humus, return of earthworm population and restoration of fertility.
8.4.2 Treating toxicities:
Metal toxicities are common and often interfere with the process of restoration. The drastic
effects of toxicity are evident due to bare or at best a land sparsely vegetated by plants
tolerant to toxicity (GES, 1997). This implies that revegetating such areas without dealing
with the problem of metal toxicity is doomed to failure. Vegetation growth depends upon a
combination of tolerance to toxicity and supply of sufficient amount of nutrients. An
ecological elegant solution for reclamation would, therefore, be to use metal tolerant plants
and supply fertilizers (Bradshaw & Smith, 1979). A covering of organic matter to bind any
available metals was originally thought to be effective. But this effect declines after a few
years as the organic matter disappears and the toxicity returns. Covering the toxic substrate
layers with an inert layer to serve as a barrier to the upward movement of metals and the
downward growth of roots and experimenting with metal tolerant species have been
attempted in many places (Smith, 1985 and Williamson et al., 1982).
8.4.3 Re-establishing Nutrient Cycles:
Nutrient cycling is very closely linked to soil microbe activity. It is the process by which
carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus are reused within an ecosystem due to the metabolic activity
of plants and soil microbe. Materials such as mine wastes are unlikely to contain any
significant quantities of nutrients, nitrogen in particular. Since in ecosystems, nitrogen
accumulates in surface soils as a result of biological activity, it is easy to provide the
necessary nutrients by means of ordinary agricultural fertilizers containing nitrogen,
phosphorus and potassium. It is important to note that considerable amounts of nutrients are
required for growth, and nitrogen requirement in particular, is persistent over long-term.
Since this is a critical factor in restoration, the use of leguminous plants is always suggested.
Application of nitrogen-rich wastes such as sewage sludge or fine fraction from pulverized
domestic refuse is also suggested. The role of phosphorus is also important, particularly
because mine spoils often have high phosphorus absorption capacities (Singh et. al., 2002).
8.5. Establishment of vegetation:
Plantation is the oldest technology for the restoration of lands damaged by human activity. A
primary objective for achieving satisfactory rehabilitation of a mined landscape is to establish
a permanent vegetation cover. There is an increasing evidence that forest plantations can play
a key role in harmonizing long-term forest ecosystem rehabilitation or restoration goals with
near-term socioeconomic development objectives. Plantations can play a critical role in
restoring productivity, ecosystem stability and biological diversity to degraded areas. Relative
to unplanted sites, plantations have a marked catalytic effect on native forest development
(succession) on severely degraded sites (Singh et al., 2002).
The approaches in revegetating a degraded land can be broadly classified into three: (i) in-situ
conservation, (ii) ex-situ conservation and (iii) agro forestry approaches. The combination of
the three approaches based on the site specific considerations can produce the final
revegetation strategy. The combination of these three approaches is essentially an ecological
approach since these establish the biological processes such as nitrogen fixation,
decomposition, nutrient cycling and important biotic interactions. These processes indicate
the proper ecosystem functioning which is as important as careful selection of plant species in
providing the primary vegetation structure.
Generally, vegetation establishment by natural process tends to be slow and stochastic
depending upon the source of propagules available in the vicinity. In artificial restoration,
plant species can be established through propagules, seeds, rhizomes and roots. An important
consideration is the provision of suitable microenvironments for the establishment of
vegetation. The most common ways are to provide one or more nurse species, and
appropriate fertilization. The seed mix and quantity per acre vary according to soil and site
location. Generally, 10-25 kg per acre has been used in temperate climate (Hartley, 1976)
where growth season is generally shorter than that in tropical climate.
Seeding can be done either through simple sowing or by spreading harvested plants with
bradysporus seed (seed retained on the plant in persistent woody capsules) onto area being
rehabilitated. The nature of germination will determine the establishment of the seeded plant
species. Plantations can be done either through nursery raised seedlings or through
transplants of individuals from natural areas. An essential feature for the establishment of
vegetation is its maintenance and aftercare. Rehabilitated areas need to be monitored and
managed after biological treatment. The success of rehabilitation is often jeopardized by the
lack of efficient management inputs. Maintenance, therefore, will include replanting failed or
unsatisfactory areas, repairing and erosion control, pest and weed control, fire management,
control of feral (semi-wild) and native animal populations, fertilizer applications, watering
plants in drier areas (especially during the establishment phase and application of lime or
gypsum to control pH and improve soil structure. When a reasonable growth has been
established, controlled grazing by livestock may be allowed to suit ground and grass
conditions. To achieve this in effective manner, erection of permanent fencing or stone wall,
or movable electric fencing may be used.
As an ancillary to agricultural treatment, it is often desirable to plant tree species. It may be
possible to do such planting at an early stage of open-cast mining on parts of the site not
required for excavation of dump space. In that case the trees will be well established by the
time normal restoration is finalized. Vegetation thus generated will function as sink of air
pollutants, as large surface area of leaves absorbs pollutants through numerous stomata (pores
on leaf surface that help in gas exchange) operations.
Waste characteristics Restoration technique Problems
Low metal content Amelioration by applying lime, and Probable commitment to long
and toxicity. No major organic matter as required. Seed term maintenance and irrigation
acidity or alkanity with commercial or wild seed. use may be necessary in arid
problems turf or thin layer of native soil climates. Metals and other
elements may reach toxic levels
Medium metal Ameliorate and adaptive approach Few species or varieties
content and toxicity, by applying lime fertilizer or available. Cost of collecting
or medium salinity or organic matter as required. slow wild seeds may be very high.
acidity metal tolerant commercial varieties Commitment meant to regular
or seeds of wild metallophytes fertilizer additions
High metal content Treat surface with 10-50 cm of Regressions may occur through
and toxicity innocuous material such as regular upward movement of
overburden. lime fertilizers or seeds soluble toxins
with indigenous species
Extreme High metal Cover surface with 30-100 cm High cost and may get
content and toxicity barrier layer such as unminersalized regression through drought or
rock and cover with suitable rooting root penetration through barrier
medium layer.
Table 5 Waste characteristics as a parameter for restoration technique ( Jonson et. 1994)
8.6 Theoretical and practical aspect of restoration practice
Ecological knowledge and theory must support the art and practice of land restoration.
Because of the problems associated with ecological theory, particularly the lack of general
laws with universal applicability, at the community level of organization, it is unrealistic to
expect a high order of predictability. However ecological knowledge does have a high power
and environmental problem solving in general, and site specific goals in particular. Thus
ecological knowledge can be used to considerable effect in the context of its application
within an inductive, case specific methodology and must not be rejected because it does not
have a hypothetic deductive paradigm generating universal laws applicable to all ecological
restoration situations (Shrader-Frechette and McMoy, 1994).
Thus the nature of ecological theory and its general lack of predictability does effect both the
interaction of ecology with other disciplines involved in overall restoration planning and the
interpretation of restoration plans .Although, the restoration genie is out of the bottle, the task
is to see that restoration is used properly and not used, of itself, to legitimize new
degradation. Rather ecological restoration should go hand in hand with the conservation of
pristine ecological resources and be part of holistic environmental management at the
landscape scale. Equally, it is important that
restoration not to be perceived as having no value because it cannot guarantee absolute
replication of pre-mined ecosystems. The nature of all science including the science of
ecological restoration is probabilistic and statements are not certainties but expert guesses
(Berger 1990).
RESILIENCE AND RESTORATION SUCCESS

Resilience is an important concept in restoration and is defined as the ability of an ecosystem
to recover following disturbances .It is difficult to measure ecosystem resilience except after
some kind of disturbance has actually occurred such as the ability to snap back or recover
from natural episodic effects such as floods, droughts, or fire .The concept is useful, however,
in thinking about different ecosystems types and their relative resilience and thus may help
indicate, in a more absolute since, whether a natural ecosystem can be restored or not .
Thus, it is possible that ecosystems may have low resilience such that even with costly
restoration interventions they cannot be restored structurally and functionally after mining. In
this review the presence or absence of topsoil conserved on the site has been given the status
of the primary practical issue for consideration in ecological restoration. However, in the
initial restoration planning there are many considerations concerning the nature of the
original ecosystem and structure and functioning of the ecosystem to be restored and these
can be applicable to the evaluation of how successful a particular site specific ecological
restoration might be.
The success of restoration lies on the following:
Sustainability: After plant establishment, some means of measuring success of restoration is
needed. According to Hobbs and Norton (1996), ecosystem characteristics should be
considered when setting goals for land restoration: composition; structure; pattern;
heterogeneity; function; species interactions; dynamics and resilience. Presumably the same
characteristics should be considered when assessing sustainability of land restoration. This
raises the need for reliable low-cost indicators of success (Jasper, et. al., 1998). To date, most
indicators have relied on composition and structure of vegetation. Microbial biomass has
been advocated as an indicator of nutrient cycling functions. Indicators for pattern,
heterogeneity, dynamics and resilience are less advanced in their development, in part
because few land restoration activities have run for long enough to measure these
characteristics let alone develop indicators for them (Bell, 2002).
Invasion: Does reconstructed community resist invasions by new species? Invasion can be
symptoms of incomplete use of light, water and nutrients.
Productivity: Similar to invasion, productivity is dependent upon efficacy of resource use by
the community. A restored community should be as productive as the original, net ecosystem
productivity is an especially useful measure of community performance because it integrates
many processes including photosynthesis, respiration, herb ivory and death.
Nutrient retention: Although all ecosystems are open to nutrient fluxes, some are more open
than others. A reconstructed community that loses greater amount of nutrients than the
original is a defective imitation. In the long run it will prove to be unsustainable because it
will be invaded by new species and its productivity will decline.
Biotic interactions: Reassembly of formerly associated plant populations often, but not
always, lead to reconstitution of the entire community. Animals and microbes usually
colonies spontaneously because of their mobility ubiquity. Restoration is a considerable
intellectual challenge requiring proper understanding not only of the nature of the ecosystem
itself but also the nature of damage and how to repair it and a thorough understanding of the
ecological principles .
Restoration projects fail for a number of general reasons:
(1) Lack of a specific goal and defining goals in vague generalities (such as “optimize
ecosystem integrity),
(2) Use of the restoration project to justify ecological destruction of another ecosystem,
(3) Institution of restoration course corrections on site without discussion and/or consultation
with experts,
(4) Failure to follow up and verify that project goals are being met,
(5) Denial of access to government agencies or representatives of local citizens to the
restoration project, and
(6) Absence of peer review by qualified professionals.

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ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION

Ecological restoration is about a broad set of activities (enhancing, repairing, or

2.4. Need for Restoration:

2.4.1. Necessity of land:

With augmentation in industrialization and increasing population, the world’s ecosystems

The major phases in mining which impact the environment are:

 Exploration - including surveys, field studies, drilling and exploratory excavations.

NATURAL PROCESS OF RESTORATION

Increase in Site Stability

Fig.1. Ecological restoration cycle

2. Overcoming nutritional problems

PROCESS PROBLEM SOLUTION

1.Immigration of appropriate Not enough of Introduce sufficient by seeds or plants

2. Establishment of Adverse weather difficult Make surface rough,provide mulch,or

4.Accumulation of nutrients Gross lack of particular Ensure tolerant species ,provide

5.Accumulation of nitrogen Gross lack of nitrogen Ensure n-fixing species,aply sewage

6.Immigration of soil flora and Slowimmigration of Inoculate with soil specially

8.Reduction in toxicities Excess acids ,excess Introduce tolerant species,add

9.Physical improvements to Excess Remove compactation by ripping

An overview of restoration planning

Fig. 1. The continuum of general ecological restoration effort from enhancement to

Enhancing Conservation Value in Disturbed Landscapes

Repairing Degraded Land

Reconstruction of Highly Degraded Sites

Table 4. Ecosystem characteristics for consideration as

DEFINING GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

The mission of every ecological restoration project is to re-establish a functional ecosystem

4.1. Establishing Desired Future Condition:

Constructing a desired future condition is a fundamental step in a restoration project. The

4.2. Reference Ecosystems:

Reference ecosystems, whether contemporary or historical, can often be of assistance in

 Stabilization of land surfaces,

4.3. ECOSYSTEM CHARECTERISTICS (HOBBS, 1999):

Ecological restoration is a well established practice in biodiversity conservation and

a) Selection of drought-resistant, sterility-tolerant and fast-growing crops or herbage to

The broader view of ecological restoration, emphasized that it is a “process”, driven by

Enhancing Conservation Value in Disturbed Landscapes

Repairing Degraded Land

Reconstruction of Highly Degraded Sites

Fig.2. The continuum of general ecological restoration effort from enhancement to

Restoration efforts require a thorough understanding of the ecological principles and

Legislation Ecological risk Minimization Resource Harmlessness Restoration of

Ecological restoration Establishment of legislation systems

Stripping techniques Screening of crop varieties

Parameter of peeled off field Screening of vegetation

New land construction Fertilizing new land

Restoration of mining ecosystems

Key to ecosystem recovery is the restoration of internal processes, as well as ecosystem

6.1. End Land Use:

6.2. Limitation of Restoration:

6.2.1. Biophysical Factors Limiting Land Restoration:

6.2.2. Substrate Properties:

6.2.2.1. Physical Properties:

6.2.2.2. Chemical Properties:

6.2.2.3. Biological Properties:

6.2.2.4. Nutritional Problem:

7.2. Strategy for Restoration Planning:

 Why restoration is needed;

7.3. STAGES OF CONCEPTUAL PLANNING (Johnson et al., 1994, Australian

TOP SOIL RETAINED TOP SOIL LOST OR BURRIED

CLEARING EXISTING VEGETATION ASSESMENT OF WASTE/SITE

EARTHWORKS SITE PREPARATION

1. Appoint a restoration ecologist who is responsible for the technical aspects of