Assessment of land degradation and restoration in coal mines of central India: A time series analysis

Abstract The current study analyses land use changes in Sohagpur and Bishrampur coal mines located in central India during the last 20 years (2001 to 2020). Remote sensing and GIS datasets were used to analyse the spatio-temporal and pedological changes in the studied sites. The observations reveal that forest shows maximum degradation and have decreased by 5.25 km2 in Sohagpur and 6.02 km2 in Bishrampur from 2001 to 2020 whereas mine/overburden dumps have increased by 10.30 km2 in Sohagpur and 5.38 km2 in Bishrampur. Similarly, water bodies have also decreased (0.51 km2 in Sohagpur and 0.93 km2 in Bishrampur) with an increase in settlements and conversion of forest lands into agricultural fields. The amount of nitrogen (659–725 kg/ha), phosphorous (248–312 kg/ha), potassium (375–456 kg/ha), and soil organic carbon (4946–6780 kg/ha) was found to be higher in Sohagpur compared to Bishrampur sites at 0–30 cm depth of soil. Although, pH (6.16–6.53) and bulk density (1.98–2.19 kg/cm3) showing reverse trend (higher at 30–60 cm and lower 0–30 cm) at both sites due to low water penetrability and high compaction of soil. Electrical conductivity (μS/cm) was found to be highest in Bishrampur (87.12–91.86) and lowest in Sohagpur (75.96–86.26). The dependency of local people on forests has also increased with the socio-economic development surrounding areas. Further, a correlation is developed between NDVI and NDBI and it shows a weak linear relationship in 2001 for Sohagpur and moderate linear relationship in 2020, but for Bishrampur, it shows a weak linear relationship for the entire period. The eco-restoration techniques applied and further status of growth of major species was studied, result showed significant growth in span of 20 years. The comprehensive analysis would assist environmental managers to formulate sustainable eco-restoration strategies ensuring lesser soil loss and land degradation.