Journal of Environmental Biology

Diversity and composition of vegetation on aged coalmine

overburden dumps in Sonepur Bazari area, Raniganj, West Bengal

Chanchal Kumar Biswas^1*, S. P. Mishra² and Ambarish Mukherjee³

¹Department of Botany, Banwarilal Bhalotia College, Asansol-713 303, India

²School of Life Science, University of Sambalpur, Burla-768 019, India

³Department of Botany, University of Burdwan, Burdwan-713 104, India

*Corresponding Author E-mail: ckbbot@yahoo.com

 Publication Data

Paper received:

25 May 2012

Revised received:

08 November 2012

Accepted:

24 December 2012

Abstract

Plant communities get disturbed due to open cast coal mining as large amount of overburden is dumped at the nearby areas of the mines. The vegetation on different age series of six overburden dumps (0, 4, 8, 12, 16 and 20 years) were analyzed during the post monsoon period of 2011 in Sonepur Bazari area, West Bengal, India. The plant species and other relevant criteria were recorded using randomly placed quadrats. Species richness, Diversity indices and Importance value index (IVI) were calculated using standard methods.? Among monocots, the IVI of Saccharum spontanium was highest at all the over burden dumps. Among dicotyledons, Croton bonplandianum was the most important on OBD-4 and 8.? On OBD-12 both Croton bonplandianum and Lantana camara were somewhat equally important. On OBD-16, Croton bonplandianum, Tephrosia perpurea and Evolvulus nummularius were most important where as on OBD-20 maximum importance value was shown by Chromalaena odorata and Hyptis suaveolens. Among tree species Leucaena leucocephala and Zizyphus mauritiana had highest IVI value on OBD-12 and Butea monosperma, Dalbergia sissoo and Lagerstoemia strictus on OBD-16. Finally Butea monosperma and Dalbergia sissoo showed highest IVI values on OBD-20. Diversity indices and species richness of non- grasses species was found getting increased with the age of OBD. Interestingly the grasses, specially Saccharum spontanium, were seen to grow as pioneers and got established? under the prevailing? high environmental adversity. On the contrary, other herbaceous and tree species were seen getting established at later stages of succession.

 Key words

Coalmine, Overburden dumps, Plant communities

Copyright ? 2014 Triveni Enterprises. All rights reserved. No part of the Journal can be reproduced in any form without prior permission. Responsibility regarding the authenticity of the data, and the acceptability of the conclusions enforced or derived, rest completely with the author(s).