Soil Quality of Agricultural Fields in the Vicinity of Selected Mining Areas of Raniganj coalfield India

The study was conducted to evaluate the soil quality and impact of coal mining operations on different physico-chemical parameters of soils of paddy fields, located in the vicinity of Raniganj coalfield, India. During the entire study period, bulk density of soil ranges from 1.2 to 1.4 gm/cc, pH varies from 5.2 to 7.4, while electric conductivity fluctuated between 120 – 527 μs /cm, organic carbon content and organic matter varied from 0.29 to 2.05%, 0.5% to 3.5% respectively. The average values of available nitrogen and phosphorus was 94.2 and 5.9kg/ha. Statistical analysis of the data showed positive co-relation of organic carbon with parameters like pH, electrical conductivity, organic matter, available phosphorus and available nitrogen. Bray Curtis similarity analysis shows that there is a similarity of 96.7% between Site VIII and II and 93.68% between site VI and V