Ecological Engineering 21 (2003) 143151

Restoration of opencast coal mine spoil by planting exotic tree species: a case study in dry tropical region
Raman Kumar Dutta, Madhoolika Agrawal
Ecology Research Laboratory, Department of Botany, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221005, India Received 6 March 2003; received in revised form 11 October 2003; accepted 15 October 2003

Abstract Growth performance, biomass accumulation, and net primary productivity (NPP) of ve exotic plant species planted to stabilize and improve the coal mine spoils in India were assessed. The selected exotic species were very successful under afforestation programs on wastelands. Plant species showed a considerable variations in growth characteristics with response to their ages on coal mine spoils. The shoot height was found to be maximum in Eucalyptus hybrid and minimum for Cassia siamea during whole course of study. The circumference of plants varied signicantly due to plant species as well as age. Shoot biomass increased by 2.53 times in 7 years old plantations of different plant species as compared to those of 4 years. Marked increments were also observed in the major root and ne root biomass with increasing age of plantations. Total biomass accumulation was recorded maximum in E. hybrid and minimum in C. siamea. The NPP also followed a similar trend as total biomass. The maximum contribution was made by stem with branch in comparison to other components in NPP among different plant species. Shoot production including branches was found to be maximum in E. hybrid and minimum in C. siamea, whereas the NPP of major roots did not show a similar trend as that of shoot. On the basis of biomass and primary productivity, E. hybrid and Acacia auriculiformis were found suitable for plantation on coal mine spoil land. 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Biomass accumulation; Growth performance; Mine spoil; Net primary production; Revegetation

1. Introduction The establishment of vegetative cover on coal mine spoil is a challenging task due to problems such as compaction, poor water-holding capacity, infertility, high acidity or salinity of soil and extreme temperatures (Moffat and McNeill, 1994; Richards et al., 1996). During opencast coal mining, the removal
Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: r kdutta@rediffmail.com (R.K. Dutta), madhoo@bhu.ac.in (M. Agrawal).

of earth surface produces overburden materials and its pilling on the unmined land creates overburden dumps. These dumps are physically, nutritionally and biologically poor in nature. The natural succession on these lands also takes longer duration (Wali, 1987; Jha and Singh, 1992). The solution for these problems lies in the establishment of an economically feasible and permanent cover of vegetation on the mine spoils. There exists extreme variability in chemical composition of mine dumps. The selection of plant species also varies with the nature of the mine spoil soil as different species vary in their tolerance to

0925-8574/$ see front matter 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.ecoleng.2003.10.002

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toxic materials. The ability of different plant species to modify mine spoil characteristics has been found to differ considerably (Alexander, 1989a,b). A study on tin mine spoil in Jos plateau, Nigeria planted with Acacia albida and Eucalyptus camaldulensis showed that the physical conditions in the top 20 cm of the soil showed higher nutrient contents and better physical conditions under the plantations of former species in comparison to the bare overburden spoil. E. camaldulensis plantations led to the increase in soil acidity due to decline in base cation content. Evaluation of growth and biomass production in plants growing on coal mine spoil is important to assess the suitability of plant species for the reclamation process. Several attempts have been made to assess the growth and biomass production of plant species on the degraded lands for assessing the success of restoration process (Soni et al., 1989; Kumar et al., 1995; Jha, 1992; Singh and Singh, 1999). A successful afforestation on the mine area of Amarkantak showed Gravellia pteridifolia, Eucalyptus camaldulensis, Pinus roxburgii and Pongamia pinnata to be the most suitable species on the basis of growth performance (Chaturvedi, 1983). On the coal mine spoils of Kansas, Rogers (1983) tried 13 species (both native and exotic) for 22 years and found Platanus occidentalis, Juniperus virginiana, Quercus macrocarpa, Pinus taeda and P. echinata showed good growth and were recommended for the reclamation. Fast-growing exotic species are reported to show fast growth than native species on degraded land during initial couple of years of establishment (Parrotta, 1999). For assessing the suitability of selected plant species for restoration of opencast coal mine spoils, growth characteristics, biomass accumulation and allocation and net primary production were quantied to test the hypothesis that plants obtaining higher growth and biomass production will be more suitable for speedy restoration of coal mine spoil lands. The rate of litterfall and their decomposition have been suggested to be important factors for the establishment and future growth of vegetation through regulating the microbial activity in the soil (Dutta and Agrawal, 2001). The plant species attaining good growth and producing sufcient biomass will able to speedup the site occupancy by surface stabilization, by restoring soil fertility and may accelerate the natural regeneration of mine spoils.

2. Material and method 2.1. Study site The experimental sites were situated at Jayant opencast coal mine of Northern Coal Limited in the Singrauli coal elds in India between 24 05 55 and 24 11 N latitudes, 82 38 10 to 82 40 45 E longitudes and at an elevation of 300500 m a.s.l. The climate is tropical monsoonic type with three distinct seasons, i.e. a mild winter (NovemberFebruary), a hot summer (AprilJune) and a warm rainy season (JulySeptember). The mean monthly minimum temperature within an annual cycle during study period ranged from 13.5 to 34 C and mean monthly maximum temperature from 19 to 43.5 C. The annual average rainfall during the study period was recorded as 750 mm, the maximum being recorded between early July and September. The relative humidity of the area varied between 30.4 (May) to 73.3% (July). The climatic data during the study period (19941996) was obtained from the climatic station of Central Mine Planning & Designing Institute at Jayant. The mine spoil is formed due to heaping. The parent material is carbonaceous in nature. Dutta and Agrawal (2002) reported the variations in different physico-chemical characteristics of mine spoil soil under various plantings of the present report. The mine spoil showed a sandy texture (8184.9% sand, 12.613.6% silt and 2.75% clay) under different plantings. The pH of the soil varied from 6.6 to 6.86, water-holding capacity from 27 to 35% and bulk density from 1.58 to 1.63 cm3 . The other soil properties up to 10 cm soil depth are: organic carbon 0.470.62%, total Kjeldahl N 0.0470.064% and total P 0.0090.017% (Dutta and Agrawal, 2002). 2.2. Plantation characteristics Since natural colonization on the mine spoil is very slow, plantations are frequently done for rehabilitation of these degraded land. Six-month-old nursery raised seedlings of ve exotic plant species, i.e. Acacia auriculiformis, A. Cunn (Australian Acacia), Casuarina equisetifolia, J.R. and Forst (Beefwood tree), Cassia siamea Lamk (Yellow Cassia), Eucalyptus hy-

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brid Pryor and Johnson (White Gum) and Gravellia pteridifolia R.Br. (Silver Oak) were planted by the Forest Department of Madhya Pradesh, India in previously dug pits (40 cm3 ) at a spacing of 2 m 2 m during 1990. The growth measurements were taken when the plantations became 4 years old. The exotic plant species selected for the present study are very commonly grown in India for green belt development under social forestry scheme due to their fast growing characteristics. E. hybrid, A. auriculiformis and C. siamea are successfully grown along the roads, agriculture elds and on the wastelands. C. equisetifolia, a non-leguminous nitrogen xer is a soil binder and is commonly grown along sea shore, rivers, canals and also on wastelands. G. pteridifolia was reported to be one of the most successful plant helping in soil formation on mine spoil dumps in Australia. All these species are grown extensively on moist as well as dry soil conditions. 2.3. Growth analysis and plant biomass For the study of growth performance of selected plant species, plots measuring 25 m 25 m size were selected separately as a whole plot for each species. Three replicate plots (25 m 8 m) of each species were further marked for various growth analysis. Fifteen individuals were selected randomly in each replicate plot on the basis of lowest to highest diameter at breast height (dbh) and also on the basis of height. Five individuals of average height and dbh in each replicate plot were marked for further periodic measurements on growth performance. One primary branch on each individual plant was also marked for the assessment of growth on selected parameters. Circumference of the plants at 10 cm above the soil surface and height of the plants were measured for marked tree species. Circumference from the point of emergence from main stem and length of the tagged primary branches were also measured. The study was done from 1993 to 1996 and the measurements were recorded every year in the month of December. Stand biomass was quantied by allometric equation based on harvested trees (Whittaker and Woodwell, 1968). Diameter at breast height of each tree of the plot was recorded. After the initial census of the plantations plots, trees were divided into eight diameter classes. Fifteen trees representing all eight

diameter classes were harvested. The harvested trees were separated into different above ground components. Bole with branches was cut into 1 m segments and fresh weight were recorded. The major roots of each harvested trees were excavated and the fresh weight was recorded. Fresh samples were collected in triplicate for each of the components and brought to the laboratory. Samples of each components were oven dried at 80 C till the constant weight was achieved. The component dry matter of all the samples of harvested trees was calculated from its fresh weight and percent dry weight of sample of the components kept for dry weight. Allometric relationship of estimated component dry matter on dbh was developed from the harvested sample tree for each component separately as: log10 y = a + b log10 x where y is the dry weight of the component, x is dbh over the bark, a is its intercept on y axis and b is slope constant (Table 1). The component biomass values of the plantation stands were obtained by applying mean dbh of each
Table 1 Regression equations developed for different components of different plant species for biomass estimation on coal mine spoil Plant species A. auriculiformis Shoot Root Leaf C. equisetifolia Shoot Root Leaf C. siamea Shoot Root Leaf E. hybrid Shoot Root Leaf G. pteridifolia Shoot Root Leaf a 5.16 5.72 4.00 4.75 6.97 5.23 7.59 6.84 9.50 6.78 6.91 6.77 6.86 7.29 4.41 b 2.22 1.99 1.39 2.16 2.38 1.78 2.84 2.37 2.84 2.68 2.57 2.32 2.65 2.57 1.63 r 0.96 0.97 0.88 0.98 0.93 0.92 0.95 0.97 0.83 0.97 0.88 0.97 0.98 0.93 0.81 r2 0.94 0.94 0.78 0.96 0.86 0.85 0.90 0.95 0.69 0.90 0.78 0.95 0.97 0.87 0.66

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diameter class to the logarithmic regression equations developed for each components and multiplying by the number of trees in the diameter class. The component biomass values for each diameter class of the plantation stands were added and converted to stand biomass. 2.4. Fine root biomass Fine root (<10 mm diameter) biomass was quantied by excavation of soil monoliths of 20 cm 20 cm 20 cm up to 1 m length from the basal portion of the plant in three directions. All the monoliths were washed with a jet of water over a twin sieve assembly (2 mm mesh upper and 0.5 mm mesh lower).

Fine roots were nally oven dried separately at 80 C till constant weight was achieved. 2.5. Net primary productivity (NPP) Net annual primary productivity was calculated by adding the increment in component biomass between two successive years and the leaf biomass of last year over a unit land area (in ha). 2.6. Statistical analysis The data were analyzed for analysis of variance and regression equations using the statistical package (SPSS/PC+ program for micro computer).

Table 2 Annual variations in growth characteristics of different plant species planted on coal mine spoil (mean 1 S.E.) Plant species/parameters A. auriculiformis Height of the plant (cm) Circumference of the plant (cm) Number of branches Circumference of marked branch (cm) Length of the marked branch (cm) C. equisetifolia Height of the plant (cm) Circumference of the plant (cm) Number of branches Circumference of marked branch (cm) Length of the marked branch (cm) C. siamea Height of the plant (cm) Circumference of the plant (cm) Number of branches Circumference of marked branch (cm) Length of the marked branch (cm) E. hybrid Height of the plant (cm) Circumference of the plant (cm) Number of branches Circumference of marked branch (cm) Length of the marked branch (cm) G. pteridifolia Height of the plant (cm) Circumference of the plant (cm) Number of branches Circumference of marked branch (cm) Length of the marked branch (cm) 1994 357.00 19.20 23.60 4.80 98.00 429.60 17.06 85.66 4.83 119.33 216.60 15.20 10.93 4.13 57.76 541.34 23.90 72.66 3.51 94.93 479.33 20.60 68.00 4.78 84.00 20.89 1.12 2.11 0.60 10.12 26.83 1.02 3.75 0.12 15.02 15.89 0.40 1.87 1.29 3.18 61.65 1.41 20.08 0.43 9.02 24.00 0.44 10.40 0.41 2.02 1995 500.00 24.80 30.80 6.90 100.00 529.00 30.80 99.66 5.45 126.30 275.00 18.80 17.73 5.38 72.46 771.33 30.80 85.26 4.41 104.80 580.00 24.33 74.06 6.22 91.73 39.52 1.36 2.05 0.64 9.87 37.24 1.15 2.72 0.10 15.98 9.71 0.17 1.73 1.27 5.97 47.50 0.65 20.85 0.46 9.65 26.60 0.47 10.23 0.38 2.64 1996 630 28.10 31.20 1.18 36.40 2.11 8.20 0.66 105.40 9.99 656.60 25.00 110.30 7.03 131.13 324.00 21.40 23.73 6.90 79.93 1021.00 37.06 113.00 6.56 112.06 683.60 28.96 82.26 7.98 98.20 35.67 0.83 1.45 0.24 15.72 5.03 0.20 1.37 1.24 6.13 54.3 0.43 12.00 0.93 9.82 30.80 0.54 11.05 0.47 3.40

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3. Results 3.1. Growth characteristics The comparative accounts of growth characteristics of different plant species are summarized in Table 2. The variations in shoot height were found statistically signicant among different plant species (P < 0.001) during different ages (P < 0.001) (Table 3). The shoot height and number of branches were maximum for E. hybrid and minimum for C. siamea during the 3-year study period. The circumference of plants also showed signicant variations due to plant species (P < 0.001), age (P < 0.001) and Plant Age interaction (P < 0.001) (Table 3). The percent increment in circumference of plant during 19951996 was maximum for A. auriculiformis (25.78%) and minimum for C. siamea (13.8%). The circumference of marked branch was found to be maximum in A. auriculiformis and minimum in E. hybrid (Table 2). The length of the marked branch increased

Table 3 Variance ratio (F) for different growth characteristics, biomass accumulation and net primary productivity of different plant species planted on coal mine spoil Parameters F-ratio Plant Height of the plant Circumference of the plant Circumference of marked branch Number of branches Length of branch Shoot biomass Leaf biomass Major root biomass Fine root biomass Total biomass Shoot NPP Major root NPP Total NPP 99.55 123.75 2.94 43.45 14.96 137 242 333 295 203.04 71.28 151.89 292.71 Age 84.20 222.24 27.13 5.65 3.22 202.22 125.46 179.99 21.22NS 212.51 43.52 30.21 95.40
P

Plant Age 4.79 4.62 0.27NS 0.87NS 0.99NS 16.27 20.00 31.97 2.50NS 20.00 5.77 3.07 7.68

Values are signicant at P < 0.005, signicant.

< 0.001 and NS: not

Table 4 Annual variations in component wise biomass accumulation (t h1 ) in different plant species planted on coal mine spoil (mean 1 S.E.) Plant species/parameters A. auriculiformis Shoot Leaf Major root Fine root C. equisetifolia Shoot Leaf Major root Fine root C. siamea Shoot Leaf Major root Fine root E. hybrid Shoot Leaf Major root Fine root G. pteridifolia Shoot Leaf Major root Fine root 1994 9.30 2.56 2.73 3.05 9.59 1.87 1.89 0.40 3.40 0.50 1.87 0.30 13.24 4.17 8.50 0.39 7.47 4.37 3.85 0.54 0.20 0.10 0.09 0.14 1.12 0.02 0.06 0.003 0.73 0.007 0.13 0.005 2.33 0.63 1.29 0.004 0.93 0.41 0.11 0.007 1995 16.77 36.68 4.53 3.05 15.69 2.74 2.98 0.40 4.91 0.72 2.56 0.30 26.22 7.55 15.61 0.39 11.46 5.06 5.85 0.54 0.41 0.10 0.14 0.14 1.23 0.01 0.07 0.003 0.63 0.006 0.15 0.005 1.52 0.38 0.96 0.004 1.01 0.51 0.21 0.007 1996 27.94 5.06 7.18 3.05 23.47 3.82 4.61 0.40 7.11 1.04 3.48 0.30 43.10 11.61 25.12 0.39 18.22 6.73 9.17 0.54 1.26 0.97 0.01 0.14 2.03 0.06 0.05 0.003 0.02 0.12 0.60 0.005 1.32 0.71 0.62 0.004 1.28 0.57 0.81 0.007

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maximally in C. equisetifolia and minimally in C. siamea. 3.2. Biomass accumulation Root, shoot and leaf biomass varied signicantly among different plant species (P < 0.001) at different age (P < 0.001) (Table 3). The increment in shoot biomass was 2.5 to 3 times more from 1994 to 1996. During the nal year (1996), maximum biomass was found for E. hybrid (25.12 t h1 ) (Table 4). Signicant differences were found in the ne root biomass among the plant species. More than 10 times increase was noted in ne root biomass between C. siamea (0.3 t h1 ) and A. auriculiformis (3.05 t h1 ). 3.3. Net primary production NPP showed signicant variations among different plant species at different ages (Table 3). NPP of shoot with branch was found maximum in comparison to other components. NPP of all the components was maximum in E. hybrid and minimum in C. siamea (Table 5).
Table 5 Component wise net primary productivity of different plant species planted on coal mine spoil (mean 1 S.E.) Plant species/components A. auriculiformis Stem Leaf Major root C. equisetifolia Stem Leaf Major root C. siamea Stem Leaf Major root E. hybrid Stem Leaf Major root G. pteridifolia Stem Leaf Major root 19941995 7.46 0.31 1.12 0.04 1.80 0.07 6.10 0.30 0.87 0.006 1.08 0.01 1.50 0.41 0.22 0.03 0.68 0.05 12.98 1.21 3.37 0.21 7.11 0.81 3.98 0.12 0.68 0.01 2.00 0.19 19951996 11.17 0.79 1.38 0.09 2.64 0.03 7.77 0.41 1.07 0.02 1.62 0.03 2.19 0.72 0.32 0.04 0.92 0.03 16.87 2.01 4.06 0.41 9.50 0.87 6.75 0.23 1.67 0.15 3.31 0.21

4. Discussion 4.1. Growth characteristics Opencast coal mining results in the degradation of existing ecosystems due to the destruction of vegetation and alteration of physico-chemical properties of soil (Dutta and Agrawal, 2002). When selecting plants for the reclamation, indigenous species are most preferred over exotic species because they are likely to t into a fully functional ecosystem and to be climatically adopted but most of the native species in the region are slow growing. Exotic fast-growing species were therefore tried in view of their large scale use in afforestation schemes in the country. The literature pertaining to the performance of exotic plant species on coal mine spoil is limited, thus we compared our results with other plantings at nearby green belt areas. The values of shoot height obtained in the present study were lower in comparison to the result of Nath et al. (1991), who reported the shoot height of 7.83 m for Eucalyptus sp., 7.07 m for C. equisetifolia and 4.51 m for A. auriculiformis for 2.5 years old road side plantations in West Bengal, India. A similar result was also reported for 6-year-old E. hybrid plantations (Aulokh and Sandhu, 1990). Bahuguna and Dhawan (1990) also reported a higher shoot height for the 4 years old plantation of E. grandis (<7 m) and G. robusta (<5 m) than the present ndings. During present study G. pteridifolia obtained a height of 4.7 m at the mine spoil dump. This clearly shows that the shoot height of different plant species at the mine spoil site was lower than comparable plants of similar age at a site, which is not so drastically disturbed. The present study indicates a positive relationship between soil moisture content and height of the plant species (A. auriculiformis: r = 0.90, P < 0.01; C. equisetifolia: r = 0.91, P < 0.01; C. siamea: r = 0.90, P < 0.01; E. hybrid: r = 0.90, P < 0.89 and G. pteredifolia: r = 0.90, P < 0.01) (Dutta and Agrawal, 2002). Patel and Singh (1996) reported a higher value for plant circumference of similar species used for agro forestry purpose in comparison to the plants growing on coal mine spoil. Nath et al. (1991) also found higher values for 2.5 years old A. auriculiformis, C. equisetifolia and Eucalyptus sp. growing on a coastal

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soil in comparison to the present ndings. The circumference of the marked branches during present study did not show a trend similar to that of circumference of the plants. The values recorded for this in different plant species during present study (6.568.20 cm) was found lower in contrast to the values reported for low saline level (16.6 cm), moderate saline level (14.6 cm) and high saline level soil conditions (Sun and Dickinson, 1995). 4.2. Biomass and net primary production The measurement of biomass helps to evaluate the nutrient cycling, organic matter and energy transfer and to predict the stability of plantation stands. The values of above ground biomass during the present study (854.7 t h1 ) are comparable to the range of fast-growing tree species plantations of 35 years age (0.1545.24 t h1 ) (Taylor and Zisheng, 1987). The above ground biomass value of C. equisetifolia (27.3 t h1 ) and G. pteridifolia (25 t h1 ) are also comparable to the 6 years old Albizzia procera (29.5 t h1 ) plantations on the same coal mine spoil (Singh, 1999). The above ground biomass of E. hybrid can be compared with Albizzia lebback (56.6 t h1 ) plantation of similar age on the same mine spoil. The above ground biomass of the native dry tropical deciduous forest ranged between 42 and 78 t h1 (Singh and Singh, 1991). The below ground biomass of different species varied between 3.8 and 25.5 t h1 . These values are below the reported values of 26.54 t h1 by Singh (1994) on an unmined soil at Hisar, India in the plantations of E. hybrid. The lower root biomass obtained during the present study clearly correlates with the limitations in the soil is physical and chemical characteristics, which inhibited root development. Total biomass accumulation in different plant species ranged between 11.94 (C. siamea) and 80.23 t h1 (E. hybrid) during 1996. The nearby native dry tropical forests tree biomass ranged from 24.37 to 73.20 t h1 (Singh and Singh, 1991). This reects that total biomass accumulation was remarkably high in the plantations of E. hybrid. Water-holding capacity, soil moisture, available nitrogen (NH4 N and NO3 N) and phosphorus content in mine spoil soil were highest in E. hybrid plots (Dutta and Agrawal, 2002), which clearly indicates that these plantings have maximum favor-

Fig. 1. Percent contribution of different plant parts in total biomass of trees species grown on coal mine spoil.

able impact on soil and thereby enhancing its own productivity. The componentwise contribution to total biomass showed maximum contribution by stem (Fig. 1). Fine roots contribute minimum except for A. auriculiformis where ne root (17.29%) contribution was more in comparison to major root (14.5%) during the rst year. Greater ne root biomass in A. auriculiformis signies its suitability on coal mine spoil soil due to greater moisture and nutrient absorption capacity (Vogt et al., 1986). The contribution of major roots (32.3%) was maximum for C. siamea plant, but the plant showed minimum biomass in above ground parts. It may be possible that the toxic substances of mine spoil soils are absorbed through the roots of C. siamea which

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may have a deleterious effect on cell functioning and hence lower biomass accumulation in above ground plant parts. In C. siamea, contribution of foliage to total biomass was only 8.2% while in other plantings it ranged from 13.64 to 26.92%. This suggests that lowering of photosynthetic area is mainly responsible for lowest growth and biomass accumulation in C. siamea plantings. C. equisetifolia, a non-leguminous nitrogen xing plant has lower root biomass, but due to nitrogen xing activity it enhances the fertility of soil and also the above ground growth of plant parts. It is a very adoptive species for degraded soil due to its N2 xation ability. E. hybrid has the moderate contribution from all the components. Maximum contribution in biomass by leaf (26.92%) was found in G. pteridifolia, which also showed maximum litterfall (Dutta and Agrawal, 2001). The measurement of NPP provides an assessment of the limit of potential production of an ecosystem (Ola-Adams, 1993). The above ground NPP during the present study ranged between 2.51 (C. siamea) and 20.93 t h1 per year (E. hybrid). These values are comparable with the NPP of planted as well as natural forests (1.532.62 t h1 per year) in tropical zones (Singh and Tokey, 1995; Bargali et al., 1992; Jha, 1995). Lugo et al. (1990) reported 632.2 t h1 per year above ground NPP for various trees (C. equisetifolia, A. procera, E. robusta, L. leucocephela) in 5.5 years old high density intensively managed plantations at Puerto Rico. The below ground NPP during the present investigations varied between 1.62 and 9.5 t h1 per year. The below ground NPP of four native plant species on the same mine spoil of similar age varied between 3.11 and 4.59 t h1 per year (Singh, 1999). The below ground production in tropical forests ranged between 1.45.5 (Brown and Lugo, 1982) and 3.05.33 t h1 per year (Singh and Singh, 1999). The total NPP varied between 4.46 and 38.4 t h1 per year during the present study. These values are comparable to the ndings of Singh (1999) in four native plant species (19.6943.33 t h1 per year) on the same coal mine spoil. Lugo et al. (1990) reported a total NPP of 24.639 t h1 per year for highly productive and dense plantations of C. siamea and A. procera in Puerto Rico. The values of NPP during the present study are higher in comparison to the adjacent dry tropical forest (11.319.2 t h1 per year) in India (Singh and Singh, 1991).

5. Conclusions The role of exotic species in restoration has often been looked with concern due to their negative impact on soil fertility and biodiversity (Lugo, 1997). The available literature, however, do not support this (Parrotta, 1999). Exotic species may be especially recommended for primary rehabilitation on bare coal mine spoil due to their fast growth and establishment as observed in the present study. Care is, however, needed so that introduced exotic species may not become a problematic weed to local ora. Among the test plant species, E. hybrid, A. auriculiformis and C. equisetifolia are the most suitable species for restoring coal mine spoil land. E. hybrid showed the highest growth, biomass and net primary production followed by C. equisetifolia and A. auriculiformis. For biomass accumulation and NPP, C. equisetifolia falls after A. auriculiformis. G. pteridifolia ranked fourth with respect to all the studied parameters. C. siamea did not show good growth and biomass accumulation on coal mine spoil land. Our study has shown that an understanding of the tree performance on restored opencast coal mine spoils can lead to benecial changes in reclamation practice and renewed the prospect of commercial forestry on these restored land. These plantations can provide fuel, timber, and non-wood forest products to local people. Acknowledgements We are thankful to Ministry of Coal, India (CMPDIL, Ranchi) for nancial assistance in the form of a research project and also to Council of Scientic & Industrial Research (CSIR), New Delhi, for providing Research Associateship to R.K.D. References
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