Shikha Gairola

Successional Studies of Restored Mine Land: a Case Study Shikha Gairola

Restoration of drastically disturbed mined lands especially Himalayas has achieved great significance over the past few decades leading to a situation where restoration options have now been made an integral part of the development process. While, mineral extraction is necessary for our industrial and economic development, maintenance of ecosystem is important for the sustenance of human life on this earth. It is therefore quite pertinent in the present scenario that mining and ecosystem stability should go hand in hand. Since the overburden excavated during the processes of mining does not support any substantial vegetation over a period of time, the primary succession is too optimistic approach for rehabilitation of mined lands. However, a thorough understanding of successional processes and patterns in both abandoned and managed sites should be more useful in determining the extent of human intervention that may be necessary to meet the post-mining land use goals. Successional studies are very important as it tells how a community is evolved under natural conditions and what the metabolic relations in the community are during its development