Role of soil physical properties in Ecological restoration of coal mine land: A study in East Garo hills, Meghalaya

Meghalaya is a state of the north eastern region which is recognized as a treasure of many valuable minerals. Mining operations were left to the local miners to take up coal mining as cottage industries since most of the coal deposits are small and isolated and were not amenable for scientific mining to be conducted in the organized sector. The study of soil physical properties has been done between different restored sites from 5 to 25 years old restored land. The changes in physical properties affect ecological succession and distribution pattern of plant species in our environment. When deforested land is abandoned, it goes through successional stages by varying stages of vegetation re-establishment. By this process the soil will regenerate restoring physical, chemical properties and microbial population. The soil samples collected from different restored areas shows quite improvement in soil properties. The good indicators of the soil quality including soil macroporosity, total porosity and bulk density were being recovered. The improvement in the soil properties helps in further recovery of the derelict soil.