Evaluation for Rehabilitation Countermeasures of Coal-mined Spoils and Denuded Lands

폐탄광지(廢炭鑛地)의 산림훼손지복구(山林毁損地復舊) 및 폐석유실방지대책(廢石流失防止對策)에 관한 연구(硏究)

The project for rehabilitation and revegetation of the abandoned coal-mine lands is a very important national environmental restoration project in the view point of rehabilitation and revegetation of denuded forest-lands caused by coal mining as well as restoration of disturbed natural environment and control of the variable pollutions. In Korea, because a large number of coal mines had been developed in order to fill up abundantly consumption of coal as a major energy source in the developing period, a lot of denuded forest-lands caused by coal mining had distributed in the whole country. And, due to the absence of effective rehabilitation and revegetation works on the denuded forestlands caused by coal-mining, most of them had been remained with being damaged. In 1990, area of the abandoned coal-mine lands, requiring the rehabilitation and revegetation works, was about 1,437.1 ha. For the past ten years ('90~'99), about 1,081.8 ha out of them had been rehabilitated and revegetated, and the rehabilitation planning area was about 33.0 ha in 2000. So, remaining area out of abandoned coal-mine lands will be about 322.3 ha after 2000. In principle, after abandoning coal-mine, mine owners must carry out the rehabilitation and revegetation works on the abandoned mine lands by themselves. But, most of mine owners were in financial difficulty after abandoning coal-mine, so that principle couldn't have obtained the desired effects. To solve this problem, from 1995, Coal Industry Promotion Board (CIPB) have carried out the rehabilitation and revegetation works on the abandoned coal-mine lands at government budgets, and they have obtained good results in the construction area. However, due to application of the "conventional erosion control measures and techniques" to the rehabilitation and revegetation measures on the abandoned coal-mine lands, the results and effects of the works excuted have not been successful. Therefore, unique measures and techniques for rehabilitation and revegetation of the abandoned coal-mine lands will have to be developed, especially including development of new techniques on the soil-dressing and soil-covering, seed spray and hydro-seeding measures with seed-fertilizer-soil materials as the mechanized measures, and using of new materials for the tree planting and seedling measures.