1st International Conference of Soil and Agriculture:
TOWARDS SOIL SUSTAINABILITY
11–13 June 2024 • Lublin–Nałęczów, Poland

https://doi.org/10.24326/ICSA1.PP.34
Published online: 4 October 2024

Estimation of carbon sequestration in reclaimed sulphur mine land
Grażyna Żukowska*, Magdalena Myszura-Dymek, Marta Bik-Małodzińska

Institute of Soil Science, Environmental Engineering and Management, University of Life Sciences in Lublin, Leszczyńskiego 7, 20-069 Lublin, Poland
* Corresponding author:

Abstract
Carbon (C) sequestration is the process of increasing the C content of a C pool other than the atmosphere. Terrestrial C sequestration is the process of converting or transferring atmospheric CO₂ through photosynthesis into biomass components and soil organic matter (SOM) and incorporating biomass into the soil in the form of humus. Soil contains about 75% of the Earth’s C pool, which is three times the amount stored in living plants, so it plays a key role in the global C cycle. The mining industry and related disturbances disturb the SOC balance relationship, causing serious SOC losses due to unfavourable physicochemical properties, which leads to C deficiency and deterioration of conditions for the growth of plants and microorganisms. Reclamation and the introduction of plant cover help recover lost C resources and improve the quality of post-mining soil. The total C content (TOC) in reclaimed post-mining soils, apart from inorganic C, consists of biogenic C (of plant origin, newly formed humus compounds). The aim of the research was to assess the potential of C sequestration in devastated soil by the mining industry of sulphur reclaimed with waste and under grass cover. The research was carried out in 10-year field experiment. The research included variants: degraded soil – control, soil + NPK, soil + sewage sludge 100 Mg/ha, soil + sewage sludge 100 Mg/ha + mineral wool 400 m³/ha, soil + wool 400 m³/ha, soil + wool 400 m³/ha + NPK. The carbon content in the reclaimed soil and in the aboveground and underground grass biomass was assessed The carbon content in the soil was determined and the results were converted into Mg/ha. The total yield of aboveground biomass was determined, and the conversion factor proposed by ICCP was used to determine the C content in aboveground and underground biomass. The average amount of humus in the reclaimed soil was significantly dependent on the reclaimed variant and ranged from approximately 17 m³/ha (soil + NPK) to 30 m³/ha (soil + sewage sludge). The greatest amount of C was incorporated by grasses grown in soil with the addition of sewage sludge and mineral wool (21 m³/ha). Balancing the supply of C in the soil and incorporated in the plants biomass, it was found that the highest sequestration was observed in the reclamation variant in which the soil was reclaimed with sewage sludge used together with mineral wool.

Keywords: sulphur mines, reclaimed mine soil, carbon sequestration 

How to cite
Żukowska G., Myszura-Dymek M., Bik-Małodzińska M., 2024. Estimation of carbon sequestration in reclaimed sulphur mine land. 1st International Conference of Soil and Agriculture: Towards Soil Sustainability. https://doi.org/10.24326/ICSA1.PP.34