Resources and specificity of reclamation at the coal mining spoils

Abstract

The article analyses Khakassia environmental conditions with the aim to estimate their resources and role in the efficient reclamation of coal mining spoils. The availability of potentially fertile soil substrate as a resource for large-scale reclamation was evaluated by the thickness of the quaternary clay and loamy bedrock layers, taking into account the amount of the substrate needed for reclamation. The availability of resources of the potentially fertile soil substrate was carried out by taking into account the thickness and soil bulk density of the humus horizon of the most fertile soils of the region, and considering the obtained estimayes within the framework of the methodical rules and normative regulations for optimal reclamation. The availability of hydrothermal resources was estimated by active temperature sums and hydrothermal coefficient. Overall the distribution of reclamation resources was found to be very uneven throughout the region. In the south of Khakassia with its large areas occupied by technogenic landscapes the reclamation resources were concluded to be in deficit, insufficient for carrying out the reclamation according with the optimal protocols. Such lack of resources is indirectly confirmed by prevailing areas occupied by self-revegetating coal mining spoils. The article also describes some successful reclamation examples where specific local environmental conditions were used in such a way as to decrease the effect of deficient resources, thus increasing the efficacy of the self-restoration of technogenic landscapes.