Field scale assessment of artificial topsoil: a Victorian coal mine experience

摘要: The Latrobe Valley is host to several open-cut coal mines which pose an environmental risk if poorly managed. To reduce risks associated with acid mine drainage and fire, progressive rehabilitation of batters is recommended. A lack of topsoil in the Latrobe Valley has led an industrial symbiosis to generate artificial topsoil’s (ATS). Based on previous experiments, three ATS were created by combining overburden (OB), brown coal (BC), fly ash (FA) and one of the two waste products from a local paper mill – Effluent Sewage Recovery (ESR) or Enviroshield (ES). The ATS were compared to a local topsoil (TS). The study analyzed the physical and chemical properties of the topsoil’s, seed germination and grass establishment. It was found that all ATS had similar properties and were alkaline compared to an acidic TS. The ATS were enriched in salts and found to be sodic to highly sodic and highly saline while TS was …