Rehabilitating land after disruptive practices

Disruptive industries are coming under increasing pressure to preserve or reinstate areas where they operate in once their operations have ceased. Mining for one often destroys the natural habitat and ecosystems within which it operates and with sustainability becoming a serious topic and consideration over the last few years, shares Frank Winder of Advanced Nutrients.
“Further public endorsement of responsible companies is making it a necessity more than a legislative obligation these days. Many mines however see this as an increased burden on their bottom line, as well as a time consuming exercise, yet many of the large mining houses are supportive towards land rehabilitation, towards sustainability, as well as responsibility not only to shareholders but the communities, present and future, that are impacted by their business,” says Frank Winder – Managing Director for Advanced Nutrients.
“Rehabilitating massive tracts of land after seriously disruptive practices such as open cast mining can however be a daunting task. In many countries this is mandatory, and mining companies will ‘store’ the top layers of sediment from their mining activities and then refill the mine and replace the original soil ‘ecosystem.”
“It can not be overestimated the amount of damage that soil disruption causes. There is a very delicate ecosystem within the soil that has evolved over the millenia. In fact it without active intervention soil disturbed in this way could take ‘geological time’ (hundreds of years or more) to return to its natural state once disturbed. The makeup of the top few centimetres of soil is incredibly complex and even the act of simply turning over even 30cm of earth can seriously upset the soils natural state.”
“Many people do not realise just how specialised the soil flora and fauna are, where entire biological systems thrive under just one plant. The restoration of ‘workable’ soil structure including organic components as well as active and effective soil biota are critical for the environment. This is imperative for future use of the soil particularly if anything other than pioneer plants are to be grown on it.”
The current furore over fracking (hydraulic fracturing) in the Karoo has brought to the fore the concerns of how detrimental many industrial practices can be. There are concerns as how best to negate these harmful effects.
This is also evident in the scenario such as the one now playing out in the Ogies area where farmers are awaiting notification to leave their land as the nearby coal mines are being extended into the area. The arable land in the area has proved to be excellent for maize and soya producing farmers.  The soil however can not be expected to be as promising once mining has come and gone over the area, leaving what will probably be unusable masses of land.
“This is where the science of soil nutrition becomes vital. Understanding the scientific makeup of the soil can lead to the rehabilitation of in arable land. In fact, many farming problems are caused by a lack of awareness of problems in the soil’s biological makeup traditionally many farmers simply resort to increasing their fertilizer usage in order to improve yields. This can in fact lead to worse results. A proper soil management programme often aims to reduce fertilizer applications. Improved humus content can improve water usage and provide better yields with greater long term sustainability.”
“In the same way, understanding the make up and requirements of the soil in disrupted areas can rehabilitate the land. Knowledge is crucial in this regard, both for businesses starting a soil rehabilitation programme and for areas that have been subject to disruption,” concludes Winder.justin@lionswing.co.za or visit www.lionswing.co.za