Akala and Lal - 1999. POTENTIAL OF MINE LAND RECLAMATION FOR SOIL ORGANIC CARBON SEQUESTRATION IN OHIO [Reclamation] [Soil Carbon]

Soils are an eective sink for carbon storage and immobilization through biomass productivity and enhancement of soil organic carbon (SOC) pool. The SOC sink capacity depends on land use and management. Degraded lands lose large amounts of C through SOC decomposition, erosion, and leaching. Thus, restoration of disturbed and degraded mine lands can lead to increase in biomass productivity, improved soil quality and SOC enhancement and sequestration. Reclamation of mined lands is an aggrading process and oers signi®cant potential to sequester C. A chronosequence study consisting of 0-, 5-, 10-, 15-, 20- and 25-year-old reclaimed mine soils in Ohio was initiated to assess the rate of C sequestration by pasture and forest establishment. Undisturbed pasture and forest were used as controls. The SOC pool of reclaimed pasture sites increased from 15.3 Mg ha1 to 44.4 Mg ha1 for 0±15 cm depth and from 10.8 Mg ha1 to 18.3 Mg ha1 for 15±30 cm depth over the period of 25 years. The SOC pool of reclaimed forest sites increased from 12.7 Mg ha1 to 45.3 Mg ha for 0±15 cm depth and from 9.1 Mg ha1 to 13.6 Mg ha1 for 15±30 cm depth over the same time period. The SOC pool of the pasture site stabilized earlier than that of the forest site which had not yet attained equilibrium. The SOC sequestered in 0±30 cm depth over 25 years was 36.7 Mg ha1 for pasture and 37.1 Mg ha1 for forest.