8

Published Papers
 Proc. Reclamation and Rehabilitation of mined out areas,
Society of Geoscientists and Allied Technologists- Bhubaneswar, pp 161 - 165, 2001

BOTTLENECKS IN LAND RECLAMATION MEASURES IN

IRON ORE MINING AREAS OF ORISSA & JHARKHAND

B. N. Mohanty1, Dr. B. P. Choudhury2 and Dr. S. N. Pattanaik3

Abstract

Formation of landscapes along with a variety of ecosystems on the earth’s crust takes
place over a period of millions of years. But human activities like mining destroy them within
a very short time of a few years. Mining disturbs all the main components and ingredients of
life support system e.g. soil, water, air, plants and animals. All the main characteristics of top
soil -physical, chemical and biological- are damaged beyond repair. The geochemical,
hydrological and biological cycles functioning in the top soil are disrupted. The plant species
vanish. The animals and microorganisms follow suit. The slow and steady efforts of nature for
many millennia in shaping the ecosystems are negated within no time. Restarting the clock
again will take aeons if left to Nature on its own. With further stress on the ecosystem, nornplcy
to return is afar cry from any direction. Hence, it is imperative to provide positive, site specific
and sensible interventions to derelict mined out land so that restoration becomes easier,
within a short span of time, in a cost effective manner. But in order to achieve this objective
our ecological understanding of the existing and subsequent environment is a must. While
studies and research are going on in this direction, this article attempts to throw light on the
bottlenecks encountered in the field in reclamation measures being adopted at present in the
iron ore mining areas of Orissa and Jharkhand.

INTRODUCTION
Three contiguous districts- two of Orissa and one of newly carved out state of Jharkhand-
namely Keonjhar, Sundargarh and Singhbhum contribute Keonjhar, Sundargarh and
Singhbhum contribute 32% of iron ore and 47% of. Manganese ore reserves of India. These
deposits are mainly confined to a horse- shoe shaped belt running almost north-south delin­
eated for the first time by the famous geologist H.C. Jones in the year 1934. Major coal
deposits of the country are at a radius of few hundred kilometres from the iron triangle of
Keonjhar -Chaibasa-Rourkela which encompass the horse-shoe. Consequently five mega
steel plants which have come up in the vicinity of this iron triangle in the cities of Rourkela,
'Dy. Conservator of Forests (On study leave). Ministry of Environment & Forests, Govt, of India, Bhubaneswar, -’Professor (Field.). P. G. .Of Botany Utkal
University, Bhubaneswar, 3Professor Emeritus, P G. Deptt Of Botany, Utkal University, Bhubaneswar.

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Jamshedpur, Bokaro, Burnpur and Durgapur draw their total iron, manganese and other
raw material requirements from this horse-shoe. In course of time raw materials are
also being exported to the outside world from this belt imposing a heavy pressure on the
natural life support system i.e. tropical dry/moist deciduous forest ecosystem (mainly sal for­
est) of the area. A cursory glance at the latest vegetation cover map of these three districts as
brought out by Forest Survey of India (FSI). Dehradun reveals that these district are still hav­
ing 58.41 % of total geographical area under forest cover out of which dense forest (>40%
canopy cover) is 60% of the total forest (FS11999). These forests are the habitat of a large
number of wild flora and fauna including the high profile animals like Tiger (Panthera tigris),
Leopard cat (Felis bengalensis), Elephants (Elephas maximus) and a large number of
other schedule I and II mammals, birds and reptiles which find place in Wild Life (Protection)
Act’1972. The population of tigers in these districts has declined to the point of almost no
return. But still we are having a few hundreds of elephants inhabiting these forest ecosystems
with herds migrating intermittently within the districts. Being concerned about the plight of
elephants, a mega herbivore in the mining devastated ecosystem of this zone, Government
of Orissa has got its habitat mapped through Orissa Remote Sensing Application Centre
(ORSAC -1999). Simultaneously Forest Department at Keonjhar Forest Division has pre­
pared a wild life management plan for the two districts of Keonjhar and Sundargarh.
The forests of these areas are mainly tropical dry and moist deciduous with Sal (Shorea
robusta) the major woody species (almost 80%) along with other associates. Since the
middle of twentieth century this horseshoe is being exploited incessantly to run the five
aforesaid steel plants, which have come up in the vicinity of the Keonjhar -Rourkela -Chaibasa
iron triangle. As a result this mega bio-diversity area with hundreds of floral and faunal species
is being devastated in a most brutal manner to the point of no recovery causing irreparable
damage to the total ecosystem and the surroundings. Taking cognisance of the alarming
situation here Government of India (GOI) in the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MOEF)
has already stipulated an Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) for the entire iron ore mining
zones of Keonjhar district before allowing any fresh mining lease in the forest area.

CONCERNS
As already discussed, during the first half of twentieth century this area was densely
forested and it was the habitat of big cats like tigers, leopard cats, sloth bears, elephants
among other important wild animals. But after a series of geological explorations, the shape
of horseshoe gradually got more and more clear. Until then M/s TISCO who were meeting
their mineral requirements from Badampahar and Gorumahisani areas of Mayurbhanj district
turned their eyes to this side and started mining in Noamundi in 1925 followed by Joda in
1957. Gradually other big companies like Bird Group (presently SAIL, OMDC etc.) and others
started mining in this area. At present more than 300 mining leases are extant in the entire
161
 beit for iron and manganese exploitation. Mining is being carried out by opencast method,
which is imparting a deathblow to the forest ecosystem inhabiting a myriad of species with
immense bio- diversity here. Iron ore mining not only depletes the area of its floral and faunal
stocks but also cause heavy damage to the top soil and ground water regimes which support
them. As a result, the potential of the ecosystem is ruthlessly undercut for a few millennia to
come. Not to mention the damages and degradations that are being subjected to the
surrounding ecosystems through ancillary activities like overburden dumping, waste disposal,
slime ponds, crushing units, beneficiation plants, stacking yards, roads, railway networks,
transmission lines, colonies and the conglomeration human population at an originally
inacessible areas. The long term adverse effects of mining on the forest ecosystem can be
listed as follows:
1) Habitat fragmentation,
2) Edge effect,
3) Loss of good germination sites,
4) Loss of supply of pollinators and seed dispersers,
5) Loss of complexity and inter-connectedness in ecosystems,
6) Loss of resilience and resistance,
7) Spread of exotic species,
' f*
8) Devastation of ground water regime,
9) Release of toxins,
10) Air pollution,
11) Increase in wild fire

1) Habitat fragmentation
The forest areas where mining is going on for last many decades are actually living,
functioning, thriving ecosystems -supporting a plethora of species both floral and faunal,
sustained by a set of cycles -water cycle, nutrient cycle, energy cycle etc. -all intimately
interconnected and inter- related which are self supporting, constantly adapting and co-evolving
in a dynamic equilibrium with each other. Open cast iron ore mining imparts a death blow to
the systems by ruthlessly removing woody and non-woody flora, followed by the bigger
mammals and the reptiles and the insects. The top soil is sheared and its horizons devastated.
They are mixed, crumpled with other materials of the substratum heaped and dumped beyond
repair and recognition. No living functioning system can be subjected to more disgrace and
damage than those aforesaid. A life supporting system is rendered life less and barren through
man’s systematic infringements'along with its multitude of adverse effects. The resilience
and vigour of the ecosystem are undercut in all possible manner. Long years after the mining
is over not even a blade of grass grows there. Hopefully, it may take many more millennia

162
before anything worthwhile comes up on it.
2) Edge effect
Fragmentation of habitat creates a lot of edge zones to which many plants and animals
are very sensitive. It is due to the fact that edge zones are usually drier and less shady than
forest interiors. So they favour shade intolerant xeric plants over mesic forest plants. Change
in the plant and animal compositions brings in a significant change in decomposition of dead
organisms, nutrient cycling, pollination, seed propagation and parasitism etc. creating disorder
and imbalance in the overall ecosystem and the surroundings.
3) Loss of good germination sites
Loss of topsoil, which need a long period of time for formation, causes depletion of
good germination sites. This results in degradation of natural vegetation cover followed by
animal communities intimately associated with them.
4) Loss of pllinators and seed dispersers
Fragmentation of habitats brings about loss of organisms carrying out the role of
pollinators and seed dispersers causing heavy damage to life cycle of plants and animals.
5) Loss of complexity and interconnectendness in ecosystems
A large number of species are interconnected by various functional relationships like
mutualism, competition, parasitism, predator-prey and commensalism. As such they are in a
dynamic equilibrium with each other due to the close knit interrelationships and
interconnectedness. But fragmentation of habitat has a direct bearing on the breaking down
of functional relationships leading to a great loss to the total ecosystem.
6) Loss of resilience and resistance
A complex community of plants and animals poses a serious in built resistance to spread
of diseases and weeds. But fragmentation of habitat undercuts that advantage and expose
the ecosystem to a number of risks including pest attack and weed invasion.
7) Spread of exotic species
Breaking down in interconnectivity and natural resistance among plant and animal
communities pave the way for exotics to rule the roost.
8) Devastation of ground water regime
Clearing of forest growth accompanied by loss of topsoil cover devastates the ground
water recharging centres. This results in general lowering down of ground water table and
drying up of streams.
9) Release of toxins
Many toxic elements and compounds which are generally locked in various states
underneath the ground surface get exposed due to opening for mining activities. This subjects
163
them to leaching and spread into the natural surrounding polluting the water and air causing
heavy damage to health and hygiene of organisms.
10) Air pollution
Dusts generated due to mining are the main cause of air pollution.
11) Increase in wild fire
Increase in xeric conditions enhances the risk and frequency of fire hazards.

CHALLENGES
Nobody with sound bent of mind can opt solely for forest and wild life in this promising
mining belt which is one of the best mineral deposits of the country. The topography, climate,
soil, altogether make possible the luxuriant growth of dry and moist deciduous forest with multitude
of species on this landform. A number of tribes Juangs, Kolhas, Bhuyans, Mundas, etc. are
directly dependent on these ecosystems for their bare minimum livelihoods. This area is the
water source of two major river systems of Orissa-namely the Bramhani and the Baitarani. In a
way millions of people depend on this area for their daily requirement of water, food, fuel, clean
area, microclimate and other needs. Systematically devastating the proverbial goose that lay
the golden eggs is a cause of alarm for all and sundry. Even though mining in this belt is absolutely
necessary it has to be carefully planned in such a manner that all surrounding forests are kept
intact and all those ecosystems which are damaged are repaired within the shortest possible
time. Although it sounds plain innocuous this is a big agenda to fulfil on any scale.
In short it involves:
1. Protection of good forest over an approximate area of 40 x10 sq.kms
2. Preparation of Land use map of the entire area
3. Ensuring Peoples participation in overall development
4. Mining along with proper up keep of potential resources materials, waste etc.
5. Plan to rebuild the floral and faunal and composition.
6. Maintenance of natural water quality
7. Check of soil erosion
8. Prevention of air pollution
9. Maintaining aquifer recharge centres
10. Maintaining drainage pattern
11. Non-drying of water sources
12. Maintenance of top soil regime areas.
13. Maintenance of seed dispersal and migration of species
14. Encouraging floral and faunal succession

164
TECHNIQUE :
The first and foremost bottleneck is the traditional mindset in which mining is going on
for last almost one century. Most of the mine owners are generally not concerned about the
aftermath of mining activities in this land full of bounties of nature. Even if anyone is serious
about the adverse effect of open cast mining, in the existing marketing and mining scenario,
it is not possible to make reclamation of mine waste areas economically viable when integrated
with the parent activity. As a result, this vital task of humanity for restoration of mother nature
for the sustainable existence of present generation of not only human beings but also of other
species as well as those of future generations hangs on a big question mark. Members of
public along with our economic and political regime are blissfully unaware of this ecological
time bomb ticking away to explode at any critical moment. The scientific and technological
community are yet to come forward with the rescue package to see us through. The present
legal regime has set forth the general modalities of up keeping of the mining environment
more on paper than in any practically implementable manner.. The practitioners are managing
the show in a haphazard, ad hoc and eye-wash exercise manner. As a result one wonders
what is in store for this ecologically sensitive fragile ecosystem which is the home for myriad
of species including human beings.
The real Techniques involve

1. Inventorying all the floral and faunal stocks of the area.

2. Preparation of full fledged mining plan and reclamation plan.

3. Top soil management plan.

4. Plan to maintain water regime.
5. Study about nutrient recycling.
6. Study about hydrological cycles.
7. Stablisation of overburden dumps..
8. Identifying seed sources in the nearby areas.
9. Rebuilding the post mining topography.
10. Helping natural system to take shape and develop.
11. Time to time monitoring to check floral, faunal and micro organism diversity.
12. Maintenance of water regime.
13. Ensuring smooth functioning of pedogenic processes.
There is no panacea for all the ills associated with mining in this pristine luxuriant forest
ecosystem of the country. Each and every mine needs a separate realistic mining and
reclamation plan on the lines suggested above which need be integrated to formulate a
regional plan. The crux of the matter lies in the implementation of the scheme which though
fraught with multifarious problems is to be addressed with all seriousness.

165
References
1. BradshawA.D. 1983. The Reconstruction of Ecosystems. Journal of Applied Ecology, 20:1-17.
2. Brads haw. A.D. 1983. The Restoration of Mined land. Conservation In Perspective.
(Ed) Warren A and Goldsmith F.B. John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
3. Bradshaw A.D. 1984. Land Restoration now and in the future. Proc. R Soc. Land. B
223,1-23(1984).
4. Meffe Gray K., Carrol C. Ronald & contributors (Ed). 1997. Principles of conservation
Biology, Sinauer Associates Inc., Massachusetts, USA.
5. Sihna B.N. 1999. Geography of Orissa. National Book Trust of India, New Delhi.
6. Anonymous, 1980. World Conservation Strategy, IUCN/UNEP/WWF.
7. Anonymous, 1984. Working Plan forthe Reserved Forests of Kendujhar Division (1984-
1994) Department of Forests, Government of Orissa.
8. Anonymous 1992. Study of Landuse/land cover & Plant Associations of Joda East Iron
Mine (TISCO) & it Environs. Orissa Remote Sensing Application Centre, Bhubaneswar.
9. Anonymous 1994. Environmental Management and Mineral Conservation. Tata Steel,
Noamundi, Jharkhand.
10. Anonymous 1998. Revised working plan for the Reserved Forests and Proposed Re­
serve Forests of Bonai Forest Division (1997-2017), Department of Forest, Govern­
ment of Orissa. f-
11. Anonymous 1999. Remote Sensing Applications for characterisation of elephant habi­
tats and corridors in Orissa & part of Bihar. Orissa Remote Sensing Application Cen­
tre, Bhubaneswar.
12. Anonymous 1999. Ecorestoration Studies in Bolani Ore Mines. Forest Research Insti­
tute, ICFRE, Dehradun.
13. Anonymous 2000. State of Forest Report 1999. Forest Survey of India, Dehradun.
14. Anonymous 2000. Comprehensive Wildlife management Plan for Entire Keonjhar &
Bonai Forest Division, Orissa, Forest Deptt., Govt, of Orissa.
15. Anonymous 2000. Annual Report 1999-2000. Ministry of Environment & Forests, Govt,
of India, New Delhi.
16. Acharya S., Mahallik N.K., Mohapatra S. (Ed.). 1998. Geology and mineral resources
of Orissa. Society of Geoscientist and Allied Technologists. Bhubaneswar.

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 Plant Sci. Res. Vol. 23, (1 &2): 46-52,2001

A Preliminary Study of Vegetation and Mines in the

Iron Ore Belt of Keonjhar and Sundargarh Districts of
Orissa

B.N. Mohanty*, S.N. Patnaik, B.P. Choudhury

* Ministry of Environment and Forests,
Government of India, S-1/52 (HIG),
Niladri Vihar, Bhubaneswar-751021, India

Tropical forests play a great role in maintaining the quality and health of the
Environment. Large scale mining of iron and manganese ores occurring underneath these
forests in the Keonjhar and Sundargarh districts of Orissa is a cause of concern for every
body. It is a vital requirement to rehabilitate / restore these forests simultaneously with and / or
at the closure of such mining operations. For a long time the rehabilitation of forest species
in the mined out area is proving to be very difficult meeting little success in the field. It is also
a fact that all the forest species are not equally tolerant to the impacts of mining and related
pressures. This study attempts to probe the nature of change of vegetation composition due
to the impacts of mining by choosing suitable sites subjected to varying degrees of stress. In
the preliminary study it is brought to light that the area where mining is being undertaken
originally supported dense sal forest with many associate species in the premining days. But
in course of time due to opening of canopy, the germination of sal received a severe jolt and
many other species invaded the area. Along with them exotics like Chromolaena odorata
and Lantana camara.oolonized the area and started dominating the post mining scenario.
All these facts are to be taken into consideration before preparing any suitable reclamation /
rehabilitation plan.

Key Words: ‘Closed’, ‘Open’, ‘Scrub’ forests; Girth at breast height (gbh); Importance
Value Index (IVI).
167
 Introduction

In the recent years, Environment and Development are two hotly debated matters of
concern to humankind. World overthe tropical forests play a very crucial role in maintaining
the quality and health of the Environment. For that reason India occupies a prize position
among the committee of Nations as it is endowed with large chunks of tropical forests in the
states of Orissa, Jharkhand, Chhatisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil
Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. In Orissa vast resources of mineral ores including Iron and
Manganese occur underneath these forests in the twin North Orissan districts of Keonjhar
and Sundargarh near the trijunction of their boundaries with that of Jharkhand state. In this
region a horse-shoe shaped synclinorium otherwise known as Bonai-Keonjhar Iron Ore
belt occupies the most critical position catering to the iron and manganese ore needs of
three giant steel plants in the cities of Rourkela, Jameshedpurand Durgapur besides meeting
the raw material requirements of many sponge and pig iron plants all overthe country including
our export commitments overseas. As a direct impact of mining in this dense tropical Sal
(Shorea robusta) forest tract of Keonjhar and Bonai Forest Divisions of Orissa, many species
of herbs, shrubs, climbers, lianas and trees constituting these forests and the tropical forest
ecosystems as a whole are getting severely affected. It is a legal and human requirement in
such areas to restore the landform, soil profile along with the naturally occurring vegetation
simultaneously with and/or at the closure of mining operations in the forest land. In order to
achieve this objective, it is imperative to study before hand the natural vegetation in the ambient
forest ecosystem so as to understand the impact of mining and related anthropogenic
pressures on the structure and composition of these forests (Mohanty, Choudhury and Patnaik,
2001). Substantial knowledge in this direction will pave the way for rehabilitating the mining
devastated forest ecosystem (Anonymous, 1995). Keeping this objective in view, field study
was conducted during the post monsoon dry season of last two years. This study was
conducted simultaneously inside ‘closed’ forest, 'open’ forest and mining devastated 'scrub’
jungle, so that direction of change of vegetation composition will be understood and will provide
valuable insights into the modalities for rehabilitation of mine derelict sites.

Study Area

The study area constitutes the mining affected forest tracts of Champua Range of
Keonjhar Forest Division and Koirha Range of Bonai Forest Division. The main Forest

168
Reserves which come under the area of study are Thakurani, Siddhamatha, Baitarani and
Karo of Keonjhar and Khajuridih, Sarkunda and Toda of Bonai Forest Division. Within these
forest reserves run the Orissa part of famous horse-shoe iron ore synclinorium of Sundargarh-
Singhbhum-Keonjhar districts which is country’s prize mining belt accounting for 32% of Iron
ore and 47% of Manganese ore reserves of the India (Anonymous, 1992). It is situated between
21 °-42'44" to 22°-9'46"N latitudes and 85°-6'34" to 85°-28'31 “E longitudes within the towns
of Barbil in the North and Tensa in the South. The horse-shoe runs in a NNE and SSW direction
with its opening towards NNE. The main mining zones are at Gua, Kiriburu, Meghataburu,
Bolani, Kalta and Barsuan in the Western flank and Nuamundi, Joda, Jururi, Siljora, Guruda,
Malangtoli and Mankarnacha in the eastern side. These centres along with numerous sporadic
mines at very many places inside the horseshoe directly affects the vegetation cover, soil
profile, drainage pattern, ground water regime and myriads of floral and faunal species of the
study area. The water divide between the catchments of the Brahmani in the West and the
Baitarani in the East cuts through the horse-shoe along a line from Jaldih village in the SSW
through Bhawani Pahar near Koirha, Mendhamarani Reserve of Bonai through Siddhamatha
and Thakurani Reserves of Keonjhar. The main drainage channels are Suna, Teherei,
Kakarpani nallahs in the Baitarani system and Karo, Kuradih and Samaji nallahs in the
Brahmani system. The soil is lateritic with detail characteristics as at Table-1. Although the
vegetation analysis is confined to the Orissa part of the horse-shoe, it will as well apply to the
adjoining Tholkabad forests of Jharkhand state where vegetation cover is similar and there
may not be much difference in soil and climatic characteristics.

Table-1: Soil physico-chemical characteristics of the study area.

Soil Properties

1 Colour Dark reddish brown to reddish brown

2 Texture Sandy clay loam to loamy sand
3 p.H. 6.32 to 6.71
4 Salinity 0.28 to 0.30
5 Organic Carbon 0.3 to 3.2%
6 Available Phosphorous (Kg/ha) 2.6 to 2.98
*4 i
rj~ )
7 Available Potash (Kg/ha) 60.78 to 97.80

169
 Methodology

Vegetation sampling has been conducted just after the monsoon seasons of last
two years. It is undertaken in three different forest patches in and around mining concentrations/
cluster of mines. The first area (Site-1) chosen is a ‘closed’ forest where canopy cover continues
to be more than 40% due to lack of disturbance as it is far off from the mining centres. The
second area (Site-ll) is an ‘open’ forest where canopy cover ranges between 10-40%. It is
relatively closer to the centre of mining activities which are responsible for opening of canopy.
The third patch (Site-Ill) is a ‘scrub’ jungle adjacent to and/ or surrounded by mining pits where
forest crops have been reduced to bushy growth due to repeated hacking; and mining is
imminent here at any time. It is obvious that the original mining area supported ‘closed’ forest
in the recent past before mining pressures set in. Gradually with the onset of mining and
related activities, the original forests there were degraded to ‘open’ status. When the forest
patch came into the total grip of mining and associated anthropogenic pressures it was
reduced to bushy growths of ‘scrub’ jungle. Hence it is presumed that comparisons of
vegetation analysis in these three sites will throw ample light to understand the change of
vegetation structure and composition due to undertaking mining inside forest areas.

Quadrats of size 10 X10 m2 were laid out randomly at the locations in all the above
three categories of forests in order to enumerate species with g.b.h (girth at breast height at
1.37 m above ground level) more than 30 cms. Inside that quadrat a small quadrat of 5 X 5 m2
was selected to enumerate species with g.b.h. of 10-30 cms. Yet another quadrat of 1 X1 m2
was selected to enumerate species mainly herbaceous with girth size <10 cms. Thus for
each location viz. Site I, II & III three sets of enumeration data were generated for plants at
three different diameter groups viz. gbh>30 cms, gbh= (10-30) cms and gbh <10 cms. Further,
since the diameter group forgbh> 30 cms constitutes mainly big plants the enumeration data
were put under the category trees. Similarly, the enumeration data for gbh=(10-30) cms were
categorised as shrubs /saplings and for gbh<10 cms as herbs/seedlings. Ten quadrats were
placed at each site for trees, shrubs and herbs. Seedlings were considered as herbs while
saplings as shrubs (Pande, 1999). Basal cover was estimated from the gbh of each plant
enumerated in the group of 10-30 cms and >30 cms. Importance Value Index (IVI) was
computed by summing up the values of relative frequency, relative density and relative
dominance (Curtis and McIntosh, 1951) (Mishra, 1968). For herbaceous crops (gbh <10
cms) IVI was calculated by summing up relative values of frequency, density and abundance
(Behera and Swain, 1996). Comparison of corresponding values of the three sites were
made in order to bring out the results.
170
Tablei -2 :1.V.I. values of different species at different sites

Species I II Ill

Trees
1. Shorea robusta Gaertn. 104.509 144.447 10.028
2. Anogeissus latifolia Wall 43.126 — -

3. Buchnania lanzan Spreng. 18.382 31.929 7.908

4. - Terminalia tomentosa Wight 17.553 35.433 18.995
5. Diospyros melanoxylon Roxb. 14.430 — -

6. Bauhinia variegata L. 13.756 — 15.409

7. Lagerstroemia parviflora Roxb. 12.960 - -

8. Bridelia retusa Spreng. 12.893 — -

9. Madhuca indica Gmel. 12.446 — -

10. Pterocarpus marsupium Roxb. 7.770 — —

11. Haldinia cordifolia Ridsd. 7.025 5.727 -

12. Sterculia urens Roxb. 6.119 —

_

13. Vitex leukoxylon L. 4.748 — —

14. Albizia lebbeck Benth. 4.371 — -

15. Bauhinia purpurea L. 4.349 5.925 9.334

16. Semecarpus anacardium L. 4.129 24.392 11.414
17. Ficus spp. j, 4.039 — -

18, Casearia graveolens Dalz. 3.842 — —

19. Protium serratum Engl. 3.553 — -

20. Syzygium cumini Skeels — 11.949 16.834

21. Terminalia chebula Retz. — 11.850 9.253
22. Schleichera oleosa Oken - 6.420 _

23. Ailanthus excelsa Roxb. - 9.980 —

24. Catunaregam spinosa Tirveng. — 5.727 -

25. Teminalia bellirica Roxb. — 6.222 9.946

26. Ehretia laevis Roxb. — — 9.090
27. Mangifera indica L. — — 35.506
28. Cassia fistula L. — — 26,944
29. Ficus racemosa L. - - 22.450
30. Lannea coromandelica Merr. — — 27.129
31. Ficus semicordata Buch. -
_
23.503
32. Aistonia schoiaris R.Br. — — 37.577
33. Combretum roxburghii Spreng. — _
8.682
Shrubs /Saplings
1. Shorea robusta Gaertn. 57.655 98.152 48.806
2. Anogeissus latifolia Wall 37.755 . 33.283 6.299
3. Diospyros melanoxylon Roxb. 37.229 27.294 10.461
4. Wendlandia tinctoria DC. 33.113 — -

171
 5. Cleistanthus collinus Benth. 19.928 — -
6. Holarrhena pubescens Wall 16.815 7.829 -
7. Lagerstroemia parvifiora Roxb. 16.764 29.085 -
8. Mimosa himalayana Gamble 16,200 — -
9. Catunaregam spinosa Tirveng. 16.200 — -
10. Schleichera oleosa Oken 14.658 5.787 -
11. Phyllanthus emblica L. 11.612 - -
12. Ziziphus mauritiana Lam. 11.612 3.864 -
13. Miliusa velutina Hook. 11.085 - -
14. Buchnania ianzan Spreng. - 19.048 76.158
15. Terminalia tomentosa Wight — 12.161 9.386
16. Gardenia gummifera L. - 3.954 -
17. Pterocarpus marsupium Roxb. — 7.829 . —
18. Dillenia pentagyna Roxb. - 4.259 -
19. Madhuca indica Gmel. - 7.714 6.299
20. Cassia fistula L. — 9.046 13.104
21. Stereospermum chelonoides DC. — 9.046 -
22. Semecarpus anacardium L. — 4.777 -
23. Haldinia cordifolia Ridsd — 6.723 -
24. Terminalia bellirica Roxb. < — 10.145 7.005
25. Ficus semicordata Buch. — — 7.449
26. Terminalia chebula Retz. — — 7.005
27. Syzygium cumuni Skeels — — 6.158
28. Lannea coromandelica Merr. - — 42.770
29. Combretum roxburghii Spreng. — 21.320
30. Gmelina arborea Roxb. - — 6.158
31. Bauhinia vahlii Wight — — 13.003
32. Bauhinia purpurea L. — — 6.299
33. Ficus racemosa L. — — 6.017
34. Dalbergia sissoo Roxb. — — 6.299
Herbs / Seedlings
1. Shorea robusta Gaertn. 64.889 30.734 23.923
2. Dioscorea spp. 58.789 26.437 27.041
3. Curcuma aromatica Salisb. 34.347 11.209 20.536
4. Curculigo orchioides Gaertn. 28.706 36.265 17.356
5. Elephantopus Scaber L. 27.035 12.406 -
6. Indigofera pulchella Roxb. 13.913 54.125 7.895
7. Bauhinia vahlii Wight 13.092 — 6.886
8. Diospyros melanoxylon Roxb. 7.908 8.622 7.895
9. Buchnania Ianzan Spreng. 6.406 5.997 —
10. Asparagus racemosus Willd. 6.406 ■ 3.860 _

11. Others 38.511 8.622 10.098

12. Flemingia chappar Buch. — 24.973 8.878
172
 13. Lagerstroemia parviflora Roxb, — 10.270 —

14. Andrographis paniculata Wall - 15.296 17.717

15. Catunaregam spinosa Tin/eng. ' — 7.328 8.492
16. Croton roxburghii Balak. - 9.915 15.170
17. Cassia fistula L. — 3.860 4.533
18. Vigna sublobata Bairig. - 12.502 14.058
19. Syzygium cumin i L. — 3.860 -

20. Terminaiia tomentosa Wight - 3.860 -

21. Ziziphus mauritiana Lam. — 3.860 -
22. Phyllanthus emblica L. - 5.997 10.098
23. Chromoiaena adorata R. King - — 20.536
24. Lantana camara L. — — 10.842
25. Holarrhena pubescens Wall — — 9.296
26. Amorphophallus paeoniifolius Nicolson — — 7.572
27. Mangifera indica L. — — 19.729
28. Mimosa himalayana Gamble — — 3.012
29. Woodfordia fruticosa Kurz — — 4.949
30. Combretum roxburghii Spreng. — — 6.914
31. Gmelina arborea Roxb. — — 3.012
32. Bauhinia variegata L. — — 4,533
33. Semecarpus anacardium L. — — 3.012
34. Lannea coromandeiica Merr. — — 3.012
35. Coccinia grandis Voigt — — 3.012

173
 Results

I.V.I. values for trees, shrubs/saplings and herbs/seedlings for the three sites are
given in Table-2

I. Species Diversity: The perusal of table reveals that the number of total tree species is
highest for Site I (19) followed by III (17) and II (12) i.e. I>lll>ll; while for shrub species the
order of importance is lll=l) (18) > I (13). Highest values for herb species was recorded for
site III (31) followed by II (22) and 1(11) i.e. Ill > II > I. It is also brought out that maximum
number of species of 31 occurs in herbs/seedling category of site III i.e. scrub jungle.

II. Dominant Species : Shorea robusta (Sal) is the dominant species in all stages viz.,
tree, shrub/sapling and herb /seedling in the Site I (closed forest). It is only dominant in
tree and shrub/sapling stage in the Site II (Open forest). It is not dominant at all in any
stage in the Site-ill (Scrub jungle) where mining is imminent at any point of time.
r

III. Exotic Invasion : The number of exotic species in first two sites viz. Site I (closed forest)
and Site-ll (open forest) is nil. Whereas there are two such species namely Lantana camara
and Chromolaena odorata in Site-Ill i.e. scrub jungle.

Discussion

I. From the results at point I it is once again reiterated that the number of species/
species diversity increases as a stable ecosystem is disturbed due to anthropogenic
pressures like mining (Raizada and Samra, 2000). With opening of the canopy due
to removal of dominant and stronger members of the community, more light reaches
the surface of ground and there is less competition for nutrients, water, niche space
etc. Hence relatively less competitive but otherwise vigorous members of the
community are stimulated to action and take over the niche space available due to
the opening of closed forests. As a result, scrub jungle just adjacent to mining site
where mining is imminent at any point of time supports the maximum species diversity
174
 at herb/seedling level. There, the ecosystem is brought down to pre-maturity stages;
hence, the number of herb/seedling elements are maximum and are in renewed
competition with each other for survival and niche occupation. But for future mining
operations along with other anthropogenic pressures which are inevitable there, this
scrub Jungle could have developed to climax forest with mature ecosystem in course
of time.

II. The silviculture of Shorea robusta (Sal) indicates that it is able to persists under
moderate shade but its best development is obtained by admission of complete
overhead light, right from the earlier stage, though it requires partial shade in the
beginning (Khanna, 1977). Hence with opening of canopy due to removal of higher
members of the ecosystem, the shade on the ground required in the early stages of
sal seedlings is no longer available. As a result with the onset of disturbance to the
ecosystem, both the germination and establishment of the most dominant species
of the forest receives a severe setback. So, before trying to usher in the establishment
of this dominant species, in the post mining period, it is important to create niche
conditions conducive to its smooth take over.

III. With the increasing degradation to natural forest due to onset of anthropogenic
pressures like mining gregarious exotic species viz. Lantana camara - a native of
West Indies (Saxena and Brahmam, 1995) and Chromolaena odorata - indigenous
to South America (Saxena and Brahmam, 1996) have invaded the scrub jungle.
With gradual more and more opening of the forest floor in course of time, they take
over the centre stage of niche occupation. Even when the area is left abandoned
after partial mining and on almost all unattended over burden dumps, these two
species are ruling the roost without allowing other species any chance to put their
foothold.

The above three preliminary observations will be further verified by conducting

sufficient numbers of more vegetation analyses at suitable locations. Other appropriate
methodologies availabe will be applied to have better insights into the pattern of vegetation
175
changes in response to mining and associated degradations in the ecosystem. The preliminary
findings above and subsequent observations will be helpful in formualating suitable reclamation
/ rehabilitation plans in the mining devastated tropical sal forests of the famous horse-shoe
iron ore belt of Orissa and Jharkhand.

Acknowledgement:

The author (BNM) wishes to thank Ministry of Environment and Forest, Government of
India for granting study leave during which the study has been undertaken. The co-operations
extended by M/s 1DC Ltd., M/s Jindal Strips, M/s OMC Ltd., M/s OMDC, M/s Tata Steel and the
Forest Dept./ Govt, of Orissa during the course of study have been gratefully acknowledged.

References:

Anonymous (1992). Indian minerals year book, Indian Bureau of Mines, Nagpur.

Anonymous (1995). Rehabilitation and revegetation. Environment Protection Agency, Australia.

Behera, N. and Swain, S.L. (1996). Qualitative analysis of herbacious vegetation....J. Ecobiol.
8(3): 201-207.

Khanna, L.S. (1977). Principles and practice of Silviculture, Khanna Bandhu, Dehra Dun.

Kurtis, J.T. and R.P. McIntosh (1951). The interrelationships of certain analytic and synthetic
phytosociological characters. Ecology, 31: 434-455.

Mishra, R. (1968). Ecology Work Book.Oxford and IBH Publishing Co., New Delhi, 244 pp.

Mohanty, B.N. and Patnaik, S.N. and Choudhury, B.P. (2001). Bottlenecks in land reclamation
measures in Iron Ore Mining areas of Orissa and Jharkhand, SGAT Workshop on
Reclamation and Rehabilitation of mined out areas, pp. 161-165.

Pande, P.K. (1999). Comparative vegetation analysis and sal regeneration..... Tropical Ecology
40(l): 51-61.

Raizada, A. and Samra, J.S. (2000). Rehabilitation of an abandoned Limestone mine...., Indian
Forester, 126(8): 842-855.

Saxena, H.O. and Brahmam, M. (1994-1996). The Flora of Orissa (I-IV). RRL and OFDC Ltd.,
Bhubaneswar

176
Proc. Planning, Design and Handling of Envircnmenlal Problems
with Mining Activities, ISM, Dhanbad (In Press), 2003.

Barriers to reforestation of mine derelict lands in

Bonai-Keonjhar Iron Ore Belt, Orissa (India).
B.N.Mohanty*, S.N.Patnaik and B.P. Choudhury
^Ministry of Environment and Forests,
Government of India,
S-1/52(H1G), Niladri Vihar,
Bhubaneswar-751021, India
E-mail: forestoration@hotmail.com

Abstract.

Tropical deciduous forests of north Orissa are being destroyed over last eight
decades for mining of iron and manganese ores. Besides, honeycombing the compact forest
cover, the surfacial mining is also profoundly disturbing the forest floors in the sites of mining.
In the aftermath of mining operations, due to the severe revegetation constraints introduced
in the area, natural forest succession may take thousands of years to restore the original
forest cover. However, during the course of this research, it was noticed that re-establishment
of native vegetation in some of the mines which were abandoned over last thirty years are
quite encouraging; while in some others it was not so. The ecological factors involved in the
revegetation pattern were investigated. The possibilities to replicate forest succession and
to accelerate it through improved reclamation practices have been explored.

Key words.

Tropical deciduous forests, mining disturbances, succession constraints,

reforestation, suitable reclamation practices.

Introduction

Orissa State of India is well known for its luxuriant forest cover as well as rich mineral
deposits - mostly overlapping each other. Surfacial mining for iron and manganese ores do
impart a tremendous adverse impact on the tropical ‘Sal’ (Shorea robusta) forests of the
111
plateau areas in the two contiguous northern districts of Sundargarh and Keonjhar. Although,
extensive environmental damages are being caused by mining in this tropical forest landscape
over last eight decades, there has been very little study regarding the reforestation of the
post-mining landforms. Even at present mine reclamation practices continue to be haphazard
and most often the mines are abandoned as uncovered pits, benches, exposed highwalls
and unstable slopes. It is commonplace to notice that little effort is made to replace top soil or
restore the original topography; let alone restoration of original vegetation cover as stipulated
in the relevant Acts and rules.

However with the enactment of Forests (Conservation) Act, 1980, Environment

(Protection) Act, 1986 and amendments to Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation)
Act, 1957 and Mineral Concession Rules, 1960 along with promulgation of Mineral
Conservation and Development Rules,1988, there has been tremendous rise in the level of
awareness of all the stakeholders including mining companies. Nevertheless, there is a yawning
gap in the field of real achievement. Although, it is clearly mandated in MCDR,88 to separately
remove the topsoil for rehabilitation or restoration of mined out lands as well for stabilizing or
landscaping the external dumps, there is hardly any measure taken in this regard. It is a legal
requirement now to suitably terrace the overburden waste dumps and stabilize through
vegetation cover; but in the field the mine owners invariably plant fast growing exotic tree
species without proper slope design. It is mandated to “undertake phased reclamation and
rehabilitation of lands affected by mining operations.....and take immediate measures to
restore the flora destroyed” by mining and ancillary activities. No where it is attempted to
achieve this reforestation objective. Probably because, restoration of mid- and late-
successional species in the mined out areas, without proper understanding of ecological
factors involved and remedial measures to be taken, may meet with little success. Excepting
some exercises in covering the area with whatever plant species that give immediate results
(mostly exotics), there is no meticulous effort for proper choice of species, technique for spoil
placement, selection of subsoil materials, steps for improvement of soil characteristics,
seeding procedures etc. The usual plant species for revegetation are Acacia auricuiiformis,
Eucalyptus hybrid, Giiricidia sepium, etc. None of the above species is a native to the
region. In a nutshell, although best of the forestlands have been mined for man’s developmental
needs, little effort is made to actually reforest the profoundly disturbed landforms.

178
 In the above backdrop, the goals of this research were (1) to characterize the
vegetation of natural forests-dense as well as degraded now found in the area; (2) to ascertain
the effects of disturbances on the forest cover in terms of its recovery and secondary
succession; (3) to characterize the vegetation which is naturally coming up in the reasonably
long abandoned mine sites; and (4) whether through suitable reclamation practices, the forest
succession can be replicated and accelerated in the post mining landscape.

Site Description.

This research was carried out in the tropical moist/dry deciduous forests of the plateau
landscape in the Sundargarh and Keonjhar districts of north Orissa (India). The location map
of study area is at Figure 1. This region is otherwise famous for rich deposits of iron and
manganese ores. A horse-shoe shaped iron ore synclinorium (Jones, 1934) covering an
approximate area of 65 kms x 25 kms is the repository of the above deposits - mainly
underneath good forest cover. This synclinorium accounts for about 33% of hematitic iron
and manganese ore reserves of the country. Five big steel plants in the vicinity have their
captive mines in this belt. Many sponge iron plants have sprung up in the locality during the
last two decades due to the mines here. Besides, a lot of ores are being exported to overseas
steel plants. Iron and manganese ore mining in this verdant forest country has been going on
for the last eight decades - beginning with the year 1927. Till date more than 200 mining
leases have been granted, honeycombing the entire forests of this horse-shoe zone which is
also an ideal habitat of Asiatic elephants and a host of other wild animals.

Although mining is ever expanding into fresh forest areas, there are instances of a
number of mines being abandoned after initial 30-40 years of operation due to various
reasons. The main causes of abandonment include exhaustion of reserves, non-renewal of
leases, mismanagement of companies etc. Some abandonment after 1980 may be due to
promulgation of Forests (Conservation) Act, 80 which debars non-forest use of forest land
except under exceptional circumstances. Barring a few instances, no attempt has ever been
made to reforest the mined out landforms. If at all revegetation is attempted, the same is
mainly with fast growing exotic species mentioned earlier. There is no meticulous effort to
redesign the landforms so as to blend well with surrounding topography, replace the spoil and
soil cover, seeding of native plant species appropriate to the site requirement.
179
180
 The pre-mining soil in this area is comprised of red sandy soil and red loamy soil
(Soni et. ah, 1999), mainly derived from sand stone, shales, phyllites and banded iron formations
(BIF)-which are the parent rocks of the area (Jones, 1934; Saha et. at., 1988). The pre-mining
vegetation of the mined out areas was typical of northern tropical moist and dry deciduous
forests (Champion & Seth, 1968), which are characterized by predominant presence of Sal
(Shorea robusta), Sahaj (Terminalia tomentosa) Anogeissus latifotia, Lagerstroemia
parviflora, Buchanania lanzan etc. (Forest working plans of Bonai & Keonjhar). The vegetation
(both original and those coming up on abandoned mine sites) were surveyed in 16 sites
spread all over the horse-shoe. The natural forests were surveyed in three categories viz.
dense, open and scrub - basing on the canopy density of >40%, 10-40% and <10%
respectively. The abandoned mine sites, where revegetation has taken place on its own
depending on the site factors, have been grouped into three classes basing on site age (i.e.
year of abandonment). The description of sites is at Table 1. The years of abandonment of
mines were ascertained form mine owners, past records etc. Seven such mine sites were
found where mining has been discontinued during last three decades or so. In addition,
vegetation of^9 reference sites on the unmined original tropical deciduous forests was surveyed.
These sites, like vast majority of forests of this region might have been logged during last one
century or so; and therefore cannot be said to be free from human impacts. However, exact
logging record is not available for these sites.

181
Table 1 : Description of sites

Number of sites Status Physiography

3 Natural forest (closed) Altitude: 550m - 700 m,
Slope : level to steep

3 Natural forest (open) Altitude: 620-780 m

Slope : level to steep

3 Natural forest (scrub) Altitude: 600 - 800 m

Slope: level to very steep

7 Abandoned mine sites Altitude: 550-620 m

Slope: Moderate

Methodology. FIELD METHODS.

The vegetation was sampled on 9 reference forest sites during the post monsoon
season of year 2001 and on 6 mined sites during that of 2002. Vegetation on the sites were
sampled in three vertical strata: trees (girth at breast height i.e. gbh > 30 cms), shrubs (gbh
: 10-30 cms) and herbs (gbh <10 cms); irrespective of the general habit of the species. The
first year’s nine sites were selected in natural forests - three each in dense, open and scrub
forests mentioned earlier. Sites were so located as to be a close representative of the
vegetation of the entire study area. The rest seven sites were located in abandoned mine
sites - where mining stopped for a period ranging from 10 to 30 years. The distance of
natural forest edge (generally scrub and open forests are available on the edge zones) from
the mine sites which varies from 0 to 500 metres was taken note of. Trees were sampled in
quadrats of size 10m x 10m, where as shrubs and herbs were sampled in nested quadrats of
5m x 5m and 1 m x 1 m respectively. Further, for each site in natural forests, 10 quadrats were
laid in order to sample the three strata of vegetation. However, it was not possible to lay 10
number of quadrats in the abandoned mine sites due to the overall sizes of the sites, which
are not generally very big. Hence, keeping in view the overall size of each site and taking into
consideration a reasonable spacing between the quadrats; three to seven quadrats of same
sizes as in natural forests were laid for sampling the vegetation coming up in the abandoned

182
mine sites. The number of quadrats is so fixed that sampling will be true representative of the
vegetation of each site.

NUMERICAL ANALYSES. Importance Value Index (IVi) were calculated for the
species in each vegetational stratum (Phillips, 1959; Misra, 1968). The IVI was calculated as
the sum of the relative density, relative frequency and relative dominance for trees and shrubs.
For herbs it is calculated as the sum of relative density, relative frequency and relative
abundance. Since a measure of frequency, density and dominance/abundance was included
for each vegetation stratum, the sum of IVI in each layer totalled 300. IVI was calculated for
species in both natural forests as well as revegetated abandoned mine sites. Along with
importance of a species in both group of sites, occurrence or not of a particular species at a
site was also taken note of. Further, since in the abandoned mine sites the tree layer was not
well developed, the species were combined with shrub layer for statistical analyses.
Relationships between geographic distance of mine sites from natural forests and species
richness as well as stem density at mine sites were analysed by Pearson product-moment
correlation.

Results.

A total of 102 number of plant species are found in the study area out of which 95 in
the natural forests and 48 in naturally revegetated abandoned mine sites. 41 species are
common to both the sites. As far as herbaceous species richness is concerned the natural
forest is having 34 species while abandoned mine sites are having 25 species, which are
more or less similar. But the abandoned mine sites are having less number of tree species in
comparison to natural forest; while the number of tree species is 61 in natural forest, the
abandoned mines are having 23 of them. The tree layer is not well developed in the mine
sites.

Although, a strong correlation is observed between species occurring in the

abandoned mine sites and that in the natural forests, there is a conspicuous absence of
many species in the revegetated mine sites. In the natural forests Shorea robusta is the most
important species followed by Terminalia tomentosa, Anogeissus latifolia, Buchanania

183
lanzan, etc. where as in mine sites Shorea robusta along with Terminalia tomentosa and
Buchanania lanzan are the main species. There is a conspicuous absence of species like
Anogeissus latifolia, Lagerstroemia parviflora, Syzyzium cumini, Croton roxburghii,
Madhuca indica, etc. in mine sites. The herbaceous layer of the natural forests are dominated
by Indigofera pulchella, Curculigo orchioides, Elephantopus scaber, Curcuma aromatica
etc. But in mine sites Chromolaena odorata, Ocimum gratissimum, Lantana camara,
Andrographis paniculata, Homonoia riparia, Atylosia scaraboides, Urena lobata, etc. are
the important species. Out of these herbaceous species in abandoned mine sites, the first
three are the invading weeds which normally do not occur in natural forests.

The relationship between distance from forest edge and the development of species
richness and stem density in abandoned mine sites was investigated using Pearson product-
moment correlation. Both species richness and stem density were negatively correlated with
distance from forest edge (Table 2). However, only the stem density in case of herbaceous
species is positively correlated with distance from forest edge.

Table 2 : Correlations between species Richness or stem density of revegetated

mine sites and distance from forest edge.

Parameter Response variable r P

Species richness Tree -0.417 0.410

Shrub - 0.463 0.355

Herb - 0.854 0.030

Stem density Tree - 0.444 0.378

Shrub - 0.500 0.313

Herb + 0.403 0.428

184
Discussion.

Patnaik (2000) has enumerated 158 plant species in the natural forests of study
area most of which are found in this research study also. However, surfacial mining introduces
a variety of succession constraints for reforestation of landforms created due to mining
operations. The main problems include compaction of spoils (Bradshaw, 1983; Bending &
Moffat, 1999), elevated surface temperatures (Bell & Ungar, 1981), increase in soil bulk density
(Fierro et. al., 1999), low pH (Haufleref. a/., 1978; Stocum, 1980), poor water holding capacity
(Brenner et ai, 1984; Bending & Moffat, 1999), and lack of nutrients such as nitrogen (Haufler
et. at., 1978) and phosphorous (Andrews, 1992). Further, the fragmentation of forest landscape
into smaller patches by mining may result in shifting of species composition and abundance
pattern, invasion of weedy species and other forms of biotic impoverishment (Burgress &
Sharpe, 1981; Noss, 1983; Harris, 1984; Wilcox & Murphy, 1985; Saunders et. ai., 1991).
Considering the above scenario, the resilience of post-mining ecosystem - at least from
vegetation establishment point of view is encouraging at sites where geographic distance
from forest edge is reasonably less.

Shorea robusta, Terminalia tomentosa, and Buchanania lanzan are the three late-
successional species of natural forests which were also found as most important tree species
of the abandoned mined sites. This might be due to overwhelming dominance of these species
in the natural forests which have immense potential at a landscape level to influence the
revegetation process of intervening mine sites. But the distance of forest edge to the mines
acts as strong barrier to these inherent influences of natural forests. Adhatoda vasica and
Woodfordia fruticosa are the two shrub species of very little importance in natural forests,
which were quite significant in mine sites due to their frequency and density. These two species,
which are believed to be early-successional, have remarkable potential for recolonization in
post-mining stressful environment. In the herbaceous layer of the natural forests the species
of maximum importance are Indigofera puichelia, Curcuma aromatica, Curcuiigo orchioides,
Elephantopus scaber, which are believed to be late-successional among herbs. But in the
post mining landforms, the dominant herbaceous elements were Chromolaena odorata,
Ocimum gratissimumj Lantana camara, Andrographis paniculata , Homonoia riparia,
Atylosia scaraboides, Urena lobata etc. Out of these species, the importance of first three
gregarious specious might be attributed to their invasive characteristic. But the invasiveness
dramatically comes down as the distance of forest edge to mine-site gets smaller or as the
canopy cover due to revegetation closes on sufficiently. Nevertheless, these three species
have the potential to fully cover the floors of mine sites when natural forests have receded
farther to a distance arresting forest succession. In so happening, the recruitment of late-

185
successional tree species as well as the control of evasive weeds (the two important influences
of natural forests) in mine sites get abundantly compromised. While proximity to natural forests
drives revegetation of mine sites, exposed higher slopes after mining do not help recruitment
of late-successional species nor control of invasives. It is highly recommended to keep the
distance of natural forest edge as close to the mine sites as possible for achieving reforestation
goal in the aftermath of mining. So also steep slopes need to be redesigned so as to blend
as well with surrounding topography as well to encourage natural revegetation.

The inherent patchiness of natural forests (White, 1987) has changed over time to
coarse grained mosaic of disturbed landscapes due to the intervening profound disturbances
of mining activities. This is manifested through large variability in both species richness and
composition of abandoned mine sites as compared with natural forests. Patch dynamics
(Bormann and Likens, 1979; Pickett, 1997) of this highly disturbed ecosystem can be
reasonably understood and manipulated for meeting reforestation objective through intense
study of microhabitat characteristics of the post-mining landforms.

Further, the various techniques of forest topsoil amendment in the post-mining

landforms could be used to restore the diverse vegetation cover on mined out areas.

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