Role of organic soil amendment of paramagnetic humus and compost for rehabilitation of post tin-mined tropical land

Abstract

Open tin mining on tropical Bangka Island, Indonesia exposed heavy metals that had become a major cause of land degradation and severe local_global environmental damage. The goal of this study is to accelerate the remediation of degraded ecosystems in tin mined land, and thereby promote sustainable land use and environmental productivity. To the tailings of a former tin mined on Bangka Island, we applied an organic amendment comprising compost and paramagnetic humus at dosages of 0%, 5%, and 10%, and analyzed the results using a factorial completely randomized design (FCRD). We found the soil from the former tin mining site to be acidic (pH 5.34) and dominated by sand particles (88%) with a very low cation exchange capacity. The soils also had a very low nutrient content (available and total-N, P, K, Ca, Mg), high toxicity levels of Zn, Cu, B, Cd and Ti, as well low toxicity levels of B, Zn, Cu, Ti, Cd. Organic soil amendments of organic paramagnetic materials and compost can improve soil quality by increasing the pH, the high availability of P and K and the cation exchange capacity, as well as maintain low toxicity. The growth (high, diameter, biomass, top-root ratio) of the exotic pioneer plant Reutealis trisperma increases the quality of soils to which proper soil amendments have been applied. The overall concept and appropriate technology for rehabilitating the ecosystem of degraded tin-mined land in tropical regions which serve as the world’s lungs, will strongly contribute to the development of a healthy and sustainable environment for all life on this planet.