Morphological, physical and chemical characterization and soil rehabilitation alternatives for abandoned coal mine site soils

Gülşen Tozsin; Taşkın Öztaş

doi:10.18393/ejss.1952174

Morphological, physical and chemical characterization and soil rehabilitation alternatives for abandoned coal mine site soils

Abstract

Mining is one of the most important activities that can cause soil degradation. Therefore, in areas where mining activities are conducted, it is important to determine alterations in soil characteristics and to define and implement economically sustainable methods related to soil rehabilitation and soil protection. This study aimed to identify the negative interactions occurring in soil characteristics in coal mining areas and to evaluate potential alternatives for the rehabilitation of soils in abandoned coal mining areas. Thirty six surface soil samples (0-20 cm) were collected, and 3 soil profiles were dug within the coal-mining area in Cankiri province, Turkiye. The soil-test values indicated that the soils have high amounts of iron (>4.5 mg kg-1 Fe) and copper (>0.2 mg kg-1 Cu), but low amounts of zinc (<0.7 mg kg-1 Zn) and manganese (<14 mg kg-1 Mn, except Profile 1), which are essential nutrients for plant growth. The soil reaction (pH) is highly variable and changed between 3.60 in the coal storage area and 7.86 in the outside of the dump site-2. Soils are classified as moderately calcareous in terms of CaCO3 content (avg. 5.03%) and have low amounts of organic matter content (avg. 1.66%). The boron content of the soils is generally above the optimum level (<5 mg kg-1) for plants and classified as extremely high (avg. 5.79 mg kg-1). It is suggested that backfilling, soil replacement and revegetation activities should be carried out to regain the efficiency of the abandoned excavation areas within or near to the dump-site and local storage areas as well as marble wastes applications for soil pH neutralization in the study site.

Keywords

Supporting Institution

The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkiye (TUBITAK)

Project Number

115M712

Thanks

This study was supported by The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkiye (TUBITAK) (Project No: 115M712).

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Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Soil Sciences and Plant Nutrition (Other)

Journal Section

Research Article

Authors

Gülşen Tozsin ^*
0000-0001-5653-9919
Türkiye

Taşkın Öztaş ^*
0000-0001-5001-103X
Türkiye

Publication Date

June 30, 2026

Submission Date

January 5, 2026

Acceptance Date

May 12, 2026

Published in Issue

Year 2026 Volume: 15 Number: 3

DOI

https://doi.org/10.18393/ejss.1952174

IZ

https://izlik.org/JA84TP25LM

Cite

RIS / Bibtex

APA

Tozsin, G., & Öztaş, T. (2026). Morphological, physical and chemical characterization and soil rehabilitation alternatives for abandoned coal mine site soils. Eurasian Journal of Soil Science, 15(3), 411-418. https://doi.org/10.18393/ejss.1952174

AMA

1.Tozsin G, Öztaş T. Morphological, physical and chemical characterization and soil rehabilitation alternatives for abandoned coal mine site soils. EJSS. 2026;15(3):411-418. doi:10.18393/ejss.1952174

Chicago

Tozsin, Gülşen, and Taşkın Öztaş. 2026. “Morphological, Physical and Chemical Characterization and Soil Rehabilitation Alternatives for Abandoned Coal Mine Site Soils”. Eurasian Journal of Soil Science 15 (3): 411-18. https://doi.org/10.18393/ejss.1952174.

EndNote

Tozsin G, Öztaş T (June 1, 2026) Morphological, physical and chemical characterization and soil rehabilitation alternatives for abandoned coal mine site soils. Eurasian Journal of Soil Science 15 3 411–418.

IEEE

[1]G. Tozsin and T. Öztaş, “Morphological, physical and chemical characterization and soil rehabilitation alternatives for abandoned coal mine site soils”, EJSS, vol. 15, no. 3, pp. 411–418, June 2026, doi: 10.18393/ejss.1952174.

ISNAD

Tozsin, Gülşen - Öztaş, Taşkın. “Morphological, Physical and Chemical Characterization and Soil Rehabilitation Alternatives for Abandoned Coal Mine Site Soils”. Eurasian Journal of Soil Science 15/3 (June 1, 2026): 411-418. https://doi.org/10.18393/ejss.1952174.

JAMA

1.Tozsin G, Öztaş T. Morphological, physical and chemical characterization and soil rehabilitation alternatives for abandoned coal mine site soils. EJSS. 2026;15:411–418.

MLA

Tozsin, Gülşen, and Taşkın Öztaş. “Morphological, Physical and Chemical Characterization and Soil Rehabilitation Alternatives for Abandoned Coal Mine Site Soils”. Eurasian Journal of Soil Science, vol. 15, no. 3, June 2026, pp. 411-8, doi:10.18393/ejss.1952174.

Vancouver

1.Gülşen Tozsin, Taşkın Öztaş. Morphological, physical and chemical characterization and soil rehabilitation alternatives for abandoned coal mine site soils. EJSS. 2026 Jun. 1;15(3):411-8. doi:10.18393/ejss.1952174