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Understanding the Role of Litter Decomposition in Restoration of Fly Ash Ecosystem

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Abstract

Plant species possess a huge potential in restoration of fly ash ecosystem. Litter deposition and its decomposition in the ash deposited sites are two important processes of the fly ash ecosystem. In order to identify the biological potential of a plant species to aid restoration of fly ash deposited sites, it is needed to assess leaf litter decomposition as well as nutrient release pattern. In the present investigation, we studied the leaf litter decomposition of the plant species (Leucaena leucocephala, Pithecellobium dolce and Prosopis juliflora) and mix plantation in the fly ash ecosystem. The litter bag experiment was conducted in the area of plantation on the fly ash deposited site during a period of 365 days. Percentage of C and N was higher in L. leucocephala > P. dolce >Mix Plantation > P. juliflora while C/N ratio was higher in P. juliflora >Mix Plantation > L. leucocephala > P. dolce. L. leucocephala and P. dolce showed relatively fast decomposition rates (k = 1.27, 1.17), respectively while mix plantation (k = 0.82) and P. juliflora (k = 0.73) exhibited relatively slower decomposition rates. Thus, we noted that the decomposition rate of L. leucocephala was greater than the other selected species. This shows that the species having faster decomposition rate and nutrient release could be a factual choice for rehabilitation of fly ash deposited sites.

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Acknowledgements

The financial support by Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR), Government of India under Scientist’s Pool Scheme (Pool No. 13 (8931-A)/2017) is greatly acknowledged. The authors would like to thank the administration of Panki Thermal Power Station for accessing the plantation at fly ash dumpsites.

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VCP: Conceptualization, Visualization, Funding acquisition, Supervision, Resources, Field measurements, Writing -original draft, review & editing. AR: Methodology, Formal analysis, Writing—original draft, Field measurements. LS and DP: Writing—review & editing.

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Correspondence to Vimal Chandra Pandey.

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Pandey, V.C., Rai, A., Singh, L. et al. Understanding the Role of Litter Decomposition in Restoration of Fly Ash Ecosystem. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 108, 389–395 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-020-02994-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-020-02994-8

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