*Environmental Management - Pollution, Habitat, Ecology, and Sustainability*


**Table 3.**

*Relative index (R.I.) of shrub species at Jajang iron and manganese ore mine.*


#### **Table 4.**

*Abundance rating (AR) of herbaceous species at Jajang iron and manganese ore mine.*

rehabilitate the mine waste sites tree species selected as the planting material may not only act as one of the successful methods of ecorestoration but also establish an ecological condition for nutrient cycling in soil nutrient amelioration as well as create an ecological avenue for attracting avifauna and other wildlife to congregate in this area. Further, in the future, this ecologically restored area should be used


*Ecological Restoration of Degraded Habitats of Jajang Iron and Manganese Ore Mines… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.99584*

*HC, House Construction; F, Furniture; AI, Agricultural Impliments; BF, Bio Fencing; P, Paper; AT, Arrack & Toddy; WS, Walking Stick;FW, Fuel Wood; M, Medicine; G, Gum; CL, Country Liquor; EF, Edible Fruit; CM, Carved Material;D, Dye; AF, Animal Feed; MO, Message Oil;EO, Edible Oil; W, Wood; T,Toothbrush.*

#### **Table 5.**

*Multiple economic uses, importance value index, regeneration and economic ranks of tree species in mine forest at Jajang iron and manganese ore mine.*

to maintain socioeconomic goals (productivity) and to fulfill the biodiversity objectives.

Unlike FA, instead of IVI and regeneration rank important growth related parameters like growth rate and productivity of tree species at "P" was considered along with ER, terrain and soil depth to select species for plantation at mine waste sites. The age of tree species years after the plantation was ranged from 3 to 6 years. *Gmelina arborea* was the fast-growing species with a maximum growth rate (3867 cm<sup>2</sup> /year) with minimum ER while *Xylia xylocarpa* gained maximum productivity (48 cm<sup>2</sup> /year) and ER (**Table 6**). When adaptation to terrain and soil depth was included in the selection parameter, *Samanea saman* shared the top rank followed by *Flindersia australis, Dalbergia sissoo, Xylia xylocarpa*, *Albizia lebbeck = Peltophorum pterocarpum*, *Gmelina arborea*, etc.

Parameters used for the choice of species were to assess their ability to adapt and thrive in challenging environmental conditions. The inclusion of more than one parameter ensures that even if two species scored the same on one parameter, the difference in scores on other parameters assisted in deciding which species was the best. Aside from parameter selection, selecting species for plantation from several sampling locations (FA and P) aided in the development of a comprehensive list of species based on their performance in a variety of habitats. Only 12 tree species were grown in plantations, out of which 7 species did occur in FA and most of the species were native to the area. On the other hand, the FAs' comparatively large number of species contributed to more options for the selection of species. The topperforming native species in the neighborhood from a cumulative list of 21 tree


*GR/Y, growth rate/year; P/Y, Productivity/year; T,Terrain; S, Soil.*

*HC, House Construction; F, Furniture; AI, Agricultural Impliments; BF, Bio Fencing; FW, Fuel Wood; M, Medicine; G, Gum; CL, Country Liquor; EF, Edible Fruit; D, Dye; AF, Animal Feed; EO, Edible Oil.*

#### **Table 6.**

*Growth (cm2 /year), productivity (cm2 /year), terrain, soil and economic ranks of tree species at Jajang iron and manganese ore plantation area.*

species, 11 from FA, 9 from plantations and one species common to both i.e. *Xylia xylocarpa* to encourage natural colonization (**Table 7**).

Furthermore, the study suggests that growing leguminous plants, which give nitrogen to the root zone in mine spoil, would be more beneficial in increasing mining wasteland fertility [19]; [33]. A*lbizia lebbeck, Acacia auriculiformis* and *Acacia nilotica* are the species with strong nitrogenous activity in root nodules [6]; [34]. As a result, these tree species are recommended for planting on dumps and in degraded environments. In addition to these *Pongamia pinnata* is regarded as one of the most promising plants for mining overburden [35, 36] and should be planted on the mining waste site to enrich the soil. Critical analysis of the study envisages that tree species like *Samanea saman*, *Flindersia australis, Gmelina arborea* and *Peltophorum pterocarpum* are the topmost selected ones from "P" may do well when planted on dumps, as suggested. The list of tree species that have been suggested for plantation or revegetation both from mining forest and plantation based on the results of the present investigation and their unique ecological features to ameliorate the degraded conditions is presented in **Table 7**.

#### **4.3 Shrub and herbaceous species selection**

The relative index (RI) of shrub species in the FA ranged from 11.87 to 23.71. *Woodfordia fruticosa* had the highest RI followed by *Helicteres isora*, *Nyctanthes*

*Ecological Restoration of Degraded Habitats of Jajang Iron and Manganese Ore Mines… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.99584*


#### **Table 7.**

*Tree species suggested for plantation on dumps.*

*arbor-tristis*, *Wendlandia exerta* and *Flacourtia indica* while C*assia auriculata* had the lowest RI (**Table 3**). All six species enumerated were suggested for use in rehabilitation efforts. In the understorey in addition to shrubs the floristic inventory of herbaceous species of the study area revealed that Poaceae had the maximum number of species indicating that members of this family had the greatest potential to colonize adverse iron and manganese mine spoil habitat. The ability of herbaceous species, particularly grass species to withstand drought, poor soil nutrients

and climatic conditions [37] may play a role in their colonization on mine spoils. Many researchers have emphasized the significance of grasses as the first colonizers during the restoration of mine land [38–40]; [29]. Grassroots with their fibrous root systems, are said to help limit erosion, stabilize soil and conserve moisture [37]. Furthermore, the importance of grass species cover as nurse crops for later colonizers has been extensively documented [29, 40, 41]. Aside from the importance of species rich families of herbaceous species for restoration, measuring one of the key phytosociological attributes i.e. abundance of such species was considered as a tool or criteria to select the key species from the group of this plantlife form that can be successfully applied to the development of mining waste site restoration strategies. Analytical results on herbaceous species abundance in the mining forest area ranged from 1 to 9 with *Cyperus compressus* being the most abundant followed by *Chloris virgata*, *Dactyloctenium aegypticum* = *Digitaria marginata*, *Chloris barbata* = *Aristida setacea*, *Setaria verticillata* = *Isellema laxum* and so on. *Pennisetum* sp. on the other hand had the minimum (**Table 4**). Based on the abundance value and its rating the top sixteen herbaceous species from the mining forest region were selected for restoration activity (**Table 4**). As reported by [12]; [42] planting selected native herb species on the periphery of dumps or mine waste sites and streambeds can operate as a vegetative filter to reduce soil and water pollution in the surrounding areas. Herbs are preferably more successful than agroforestry crops at preventing runoff and erosion [34, 43]. As a result native herb species are recommended for the mine wast sites at the initial phase of restoration in this study. The slope gradient was one of the factors considered when selecting plant species for restoration. On the slopes, the herbaceous species named *Setaria verticillata,Themeda arundinaceae* and *Dactyloctenium aegyptium* were found abundant. Therefore, these plant species should be grown on mine waste slopes. As the soil physicochemical characters of mine waste sites were comparable to those of FA and P, and 70 cm of top soil was stored separately for spreading over dumps during resolution, the selected plant species will grow successfully on the mine waste sites or slag hips. These herbaceous species selected based on taxonomic and phytosociological attributes for the ecorestoration program may not only grow and spread in these locations but also provide food sources for local fauna and help to recover ecosystem services for local communities.

### **5. Conclusion**

To restore the biological quality of the degraded areas of Jajang Iron and Manganese Ore Mine (JIMOM), revegetation with native or indigenous plant species selected from the mine forest area (FA) and plantation (P) constitutes the most effective, useful, and widely accepted way of ecological restoration of mining degraded lands to reduce soil erosion and protect the soils against degradation. Before revegetation, plant selection is very important for an effective restoration strategy. Plants need to be selected for restoration based on the study of their IVI, regeneration potential, economic rank, growth rate, productivity, relative index, abundance rank and their ability to survive and regenerate in the local, specific environment, and to stabilize the soil structure. Inhabitation of the land with different native or indigenous plant species enables the association of microorganisms which are fundamental to maintain soil quality through the decomposition of organic matter and nutrient cycle. The results of the study signify that the selective species of three different plant life forms such as trees (*Holarrhena antidysentrica, Mitragyna parviflora, Anogeissus latifolia, Adina cordifolia, Buchnania lanzan, Lannea coromandelica, Miliusa velutina, Xylia xylocarpa, Bridelia retusa,* etc. from mining

*Ecological Restoration of Degraded Habitats of Jajang Iron and Manganese Ore Mines… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.99584*

forest area and *Samanea saman, Flindersia australis, Dalbergia sissoo, Albizia lebbeck, Peltophorum pterocarpum, Madhuca latifolia, Gmelina arborea, Delonix regia, Cassia siamea* from plantation), shrubs (*Woodfordia fruticosa, Helicteres isora, Nyctanthes arbor-tristis*, *Wendlandia exerta, Flacourtia indica* and C*assia auriculata*) and herbs (*Cyperus compressus, Chloris virgata*, *Dactyloctenium aegypticum*, *Digitaria marginata*, *Chloris barbata*, *Aristida setacea*, *Setaria verticillata*, *Isellema laxum*, etc.) for plantation or afforestation can potentially enhance the recovery of mine degraded lands. This study not only provides an insight to restore the mining degraded lands of JIMOM but also facilitates the natural process of speciation and becomes a source of germplasm of various species. It improves all environmental conditions esthetically including economical aspects. Further, the ecorestoration approach described in this paper is also to be recommended for the environmental management of degraded mining lands. From a future restoration point of view and to strengthen the restoration practice in revegetated degraded mining lands of JIMOM monitoring of soil physicochemical parameters will be made at regular intervals to indicate the change in soil nutrient status of the restored area. In addition to this monitoring of vertebrate faunal communities and their association with plant life forms in restored areas may also be important in understanding the overall effects of restoration work and maintaining the biological diversity of the area for future prospects. Such scientific investigations will boost further restoration practice and also useful in a way to reduce high rates of forest destruction, energy shortages, and steps towards conservation of biological resources.
