Existing soil remediation measures and restoration technology

Human development leads to an increase in the area of ​​disturbed lands and a decrease in the number of natural ecosystems. This process is also accompanied by a decrease in restoration functions and resistance to the influence of anthropogenic factors. Reclamation work is considered an important part of measures to protect the lithosphere. This helps restore the productivity of land resources and normalize their structure.

What is reclamation?

This term refers to a set of measures aimed at the economic and environmental restoration of lands and water resources, the productivity of which has been significantly reduced by human activity.

The main task of reclamation is considered to be the normalization of environmental conditions. These activities are aimed at restoring the productivity of lands and water bodies.

Reasons for the emergence of lands and water bodies in need of restoration

Various types of human activities lead to problems. They are divided into 2 large categories:

1. Economic activity. The reasons for the disruption of the structure of lands and water bodies are: mining, deforestation, and city construction. The creation of hydraulic structures and other similar objects, the emergence of landfills, and deforestation also lead to problems.
2. Conducting military tests. These could be various activities, including nuclear weapons testing.

What is taken into account in the project?

When drawing up a reclamation project, it is recommended to consider the following:

1. Assessment of the direction of reclamation and determination of the intended purpose of the land. They can be used for agricultural purposes, for fisheries or forestry.
2. Organization and features of activities aimed at soil reclamation.
3. Assessing the need for mechanical devices.
4. Search for areas to place the removed layer of soil.
5. Drawing up a work schedule.

Reclamation stages

Reclamation is carried out in stages. This should definitely be taken into account when drawing up a work plan.

Technical stage

At this stage, engineering and technical measures are carried out, which are aimed at preparing disturbed lands to eliminate the consequences of human activity and solving biological reclamation tasks.

The technical stage includes different types of work:

1. Structural and design – these include, among other things, the creation of new surfaces and relief forms. This can be peat, earthing, profiling. Work may include creating screens or clearing areas of stones, plants, and stumps.
2. Chemical - include liming, the use of sorbents, and fertilization.
3. Hydraulic – this category includes drainage and irrigation. The timing of flooding of areas with surface water can also be regulated.
4. Thermal engineering – aimed at heating areas. For this purpose, mulching materials or insulation materials are used.

Important work that is carried out at the technical stage is planning and excavation. In this case, the layout can be continuous or partial - it all depends on the direction of reclamation.

A continuous layout is required when preparing a site for the formation of forests or agricultural use. Partial work is carried out at the stage of preparation for landscaping or the creation of protective strips.

Biological stage

This stage completes the reclamation. It includes the formation of a plant layer of soil, biological purification of the soil, and agro-reclamation measures that are aimed at normalizing the processes of soil formation.

The key task of biological reclamation is considered to be the resumption of processes, increasing the self-cleaning ability of soil and restoring the biocenosis.

At the first stage of biological reclamation, it is necessary to grow preliminary crops that are able to adapt to existing conditions and have high restoration abilities. At the second stage, it is necessary to move on to the intended use.

If the land is planned to be used for agricultural purposes, biological reclamation includes the following:

• soil surface planning;
• growing pioneer plants to activate soil formation processes;
• introduction of special crop rotation to normalize the structure of the soil layer;
• monitoring of soil composition by special regulatory authorities.

Methods and technologies for reclamation of disturbed lands

Today there are many methods that are used for land reclamation. When choosing a specific method, you need to take into account the characteristics of the territory.

Stone quarry territories

When quarrying stone, embankments are formed, which consist of an overburden layer of soil. It cannot be used for production purposes. Such a substrate can be divided into fertile layer and parent rock.

Therefore, all activities are aimed at solving the following problems:

• surface formation planning;
• filling of loose soil - the thickness of this layer should be at least 1 meter;
• planting seed material;
• reclamation of depleted areas of peat deposits.

Dumps and embankments

Dumps are understood as mounds of earth that do not have a specific purpose and are formed during the dumping of mined soil. To reclaim such areas, do the following:

• removal of soil and vegetation layer;
• creation of dump slopes;
• planning work on created surfaces;
• transportation from the warehouse and application of soil and vegetation layer to the formed areas;
• construction of targeted roads, land reclamation;
• creation of hydraulic structures if necessary;
• planting seed material.

Hydraulic dumps

This term refers to dumps that were formed by the alluvial method. To reclaim such areas, the following must be done:

• removal of fertile soil layer;
• design of structures for drainage of surface water that comes from the surface of the catchment area;
• reclamation of the external slopes of the dams - this requires filling up the fertile layer of soil, planting turf-forming grasses and planting trees and shrubs at intervals of 5-6 meters, and reclaiming the beach part.

Materials that wash into hydraulic dumps are usually very toxic. Therefore, they must be reclaimed from a sanitary and hygienic point of view. Under the influence of water and wind erosion, such deposits can lead to environmental pollution.

Landfills and landfills

Human activity leads to the emergence of landfills and landfills. Such formations cause great damage to the environment. Depending on the purposes of use of the territories where landfills and landfills are located, different types of reclamation can be used.

Landfill soils must be transported to waste treatment and disposal sites. After which it is necessary to bring in mineral soil, which is clean in various respects - chemical, bacteriological and radiometric. At the final stage, the fertile layer of soil is rolled in and seed is planted.

After underground mining

Mining provokes disruption of the soil structure due to the formation of rock dumps, tailings and sludge dumps on it. Problems may also be caused by the formation of negative landforms due to underground mining. These can be dips, sags or funnels.

To restore negative forms of relief, it is necessary to fill in the formed depressions and carry out a set of planning works. For this purpose, loose sediments or bedrock are used, which are mined in special quarries. Rock produced from mines is also often used.

Reclamation is considered an important activity that helps restore soil structure. In this case, it is necessary to properly plan the work depending on the nature of the problems.