Carbon sequestration through plant reclamation in mined-out land : A Case Study

The present study was aimed to evaluate the carbon sequestration potential of naturally and artificially revegetated reclaimed mine spoils. Carbon sequestration potential was measured in both types of mine spoils in terms of total plant biomass and microbial biomass carbon. It was observed that the artificially revegetated mine spoils have great potential to restore mineral contents, plant biomass and microbial biomass carbon, which increases along an age gradient of revegetated mine spoil and is comparatively higher than the naturally revegetated mine spoils. It was calculated through extrapolation that the organic carbon and plant biomass of an artificially revegetated mine spoil will reach the level of a native forest ecosystem in 26 and 34 years, respectively