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Coal mining activities change plant community structure due to air pollution and soil degradation

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Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of coal mining activities on the community structures of woody and herbaceous plants. The response of individual plants of community to defilement caused by coal mining was also assessed. Air monitoring, soil physico-chemical and phytosociological analyses were carried around Jharia coalfield (JCF) and Raniganj coalfield. The importance value index of sensitive species minified and those of tolerant species enhanced with increasing pollution load and altered soil quality around coal mining areas. Although the species richness of woody and herbaceous plants decreased with higher pollution load, a large number of species acclimatized to the stress caused by the coal mining activities. Woody plant community at JCF was more affected by coal mining than herbaceous community. Canonical correspondence analysis revealed that structure of herbaceous community was mainly driven by soil total organic carbon, soil nitrogen, whereas woody layer community was influenced by sulphur dioxide in ambient air, soil sulphate and soil phosphorus. The changes in species diversity observed at mining areas indicated an increase in the proportion of resistant herbs and grasses showing a tendency towards a definite selection strategy of ecosystem in response to air pollution and altered soil characteristics.

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Acknowledgments

We thank, Head, Department of Botany, Banaras Hindu University and Director, Central Institute of Mining and Fuel Research, Dhanbad for providing all the necessary laboratory facilities during the research work. Financial assistance in the form of a research project (EE/39) funded by Ministry of Coal, Government of India, New Delhi is also acknowledged.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they do not have any conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Air Pollution and Global Climate Change, Department of Botany, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, 221005, India

    Bhanu Pandey & Madhoolika Agrawal

  2. Environmental Management Group, Central Institute of Mining & Fuel Research (CSIR), Barwa Road, Dhanbad, 826015, India

    Siddharth Singh

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  1. Bhanu Pandey
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  2. Madhoolika Agrawal
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  3. Siddharth Singh
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Correspondence to Madhoolika Agrawal.

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Pandey, B., Agrawal, M. & Singh, S. Coal mining activities change plant community structure due to air pollution and soil degradation. Ecotoxicology 23, 1474–1483 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-014-1289-4

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