RATIONAL APPLICATION OF FERTILIZERS TO SUPPORT THE PROCESSES OF RECULTIVATION AND ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION OF STERIL DUMPS IN MEHEDINTI COUNTY

Abstract

Soil represents the upper layer of the Earth’s crust, consisting of a complex mixture of mineral particles, organic matter, water, air, and microbial communities and living organisms, which interact to support the biological, chemical, and physical processes essential to ecosystems.
The use of soil as a medium for the storage and disposal of liquid and solid waste raises a series of significant environmental issues. Among the factors contributing to waste generation and soil degradation are mining activities, particularly lignite extraction, which affects the structure and fertility of soils.
Lignite mining, whether in open-pit mines or at the surface, represents the most aggressive form of soil degradation. It leads to the inversion and mixing of geological soil layers, nutrient migration, and landscape degradation, with waste dumps replacing productive land.
The areas affected by lignite extraction in Romania amount to over 26,200 hectares, with Gorj County ranking first (~14,505 ha), followed by Vâlcea (~2,166 ha) and Mehedinți (~586 ha). These areas are mainly occupied by tailings dumps, composed of a homogeneous mixture of geological deposits depending on the exploitation zone, which have a significant environmental impact.
Under these conditions, the recultivation of tailings dumps becomes an essential necessity, also requiring detailed research aimed at identifying the most appropriate, efficient, and cost-effective solutions for their ecological restoration.