Post Mining Evaluation of Forest Land Rehabilitation and Potential Ecosystem Recovery

Abstract

Coal Mining operation in the forest lands caused significant forest ecosystem disturbance. Therefore, management of mined-out forest lands must be conducted thoroughly following land clearing, topsoils spreading, mining waste treatment, land rehabilitation (reclamation and Revegetation). Concerning expected ecosystem recovery, mined-out forest lands rehabilitation must be carried out covering land arrangement, soil erosion-sedimentation control, and land revegetation. These three aspects were evaluated to assess whether successful or not based on the performance of land reclamation, soil erosion-sedimentation land revegetation (planted areas, growth percentage, plant species, the composition of fast-growing and long-lived species, plant health). This study was conducted at PT Santan Batubara mining concession of 507.3 ha in large with 469.14 ha has been cleared and 24.47 ha already rehabilitated with a fast growing and long life plants species. Rehabilitation score were 81.83 (OPD-Komodo 2010: 5.39 ha); 88.0 (IPDa-ha) respectively, with the total score 602.1 and 86.0 in average. The score of ecosystem related to foodweb recovery based on incoming herbivores-predators-carnivores without top carnivores was found to be 70, classified as the prospective status of ecosystem recovery. The prospective status indicates that the processes of forest ecosystem recovery have been in the expected direction.