Changes in microbial composition on plowed coal mines overburden

There are some insights into how microbial communities respond to surface mining using a chronosequence-based approach. However, to date, experimental-based approaches using a permanent plot during succession after surface mining have not been widely explored. This study aimed to observe changes in the microbial species and their abundance at 4, 7, and 19 months after the plowing coal mine overburden. Chemical test and total plate count were used to determine the predominant species and microbial abundance. Data were analyzed descriptively. At three intervals, there was an increase in number of bacteria (CFU g-1), i.e., 168 × 10-2, 718 × 10−2, and 264 × 10−5, respectively. The number of fungi (CFU g−1) also rises, i.e., 82 × 10−2, 177 × 10−2, and 101 × 10−5, respectively. Changes occur in the predominant bacteria and fungi, i.e., Bacillus and Streptomyces were found at three intervals, whereas Cytophaga, Enterobacter, Pseudomonas, and Micrococus were present at month 19. In fungi, Penicillium was found at three intervals, while Fusarium was only found at months 4 and 7. This study shows that an increase in the number and change of predominant microbes in line with time indicates a progressive change in the microbial composition during the initial succession.