ECOSPACE (Reclamation of Disturbed Lands)

How often we hear the term "reclamation of disturbed lands"! But what exactly is this process? How does it work and what does it involve? Let's explore this issue.

Land reclamation consists of measures to prevent land degradation and restore fertility by bringing the land into a state suitable for use in accordance with its intended purpose and permitted use.

In other words, land reclamation is the artificial restoration of soil fertility and vegetation cover disturbed by mining, road and canal construction, dams, etc.

The objects of reclamation are:

• disturbed lands, i.e., territories where the vegetation and soil cover, hydrographic network have been destroyed or completely eliminated, the relief has been changed, etc.;
• contaminated lands where, due to anthropogenic activity, the content of substances causing negative consequences for biota has changed.

Disturbed lands include territories where minerals are extracted by open-pit mining (resulting in quarry excavations), landfills of urban and other settlements, industrial and other waste, embankments during the liquidation of transport routes, dams during the liquidation of hydraulic structures, etc.

Land reclamation includes:

• relief restoration: filling in ravines and quarries, eliminating rock dumps, etc.;
• restoration of soils and vegetation;
• reforestation;
• creation of new landscapes.

Global experience in land reclamation spans only about 80 years. In the USSR, reclamation began in 1959:

• in Estonia during oil shale mining;
• in Russia - during brown coal mining;
• in Ukraine - during iron ore mining;

According to the "Rules for Land Reclamation and Conservation" approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 800 dated July 10, 2018, "On Land Reclamation and Conservation" (hereinafter referred to as the Rules), the development of a land reclamation project and its implementation must be ensured by persons whose activities led to land degradation, regardless of the legal grounds for using the land plots. If information about such persons is unavailable, the corresponding obligations are assigned to:

• landowners;
• tenants of land plots, land users, landholders;
• executive bodies of state power and local self-government bodies regarding land plots in state or municipal ownership.

Land reclamation must ensure the restoration of land to a state suitable for use in accordance with its intended purpose and permitted use.

The quality of reclaimed land must comply with:

• environmental quality standards;
• requirements in the field of ensuring the sanitary and epidemiological welfare of the population.

Agricultural land must also comply with the norms and rules for ensuring the fertility of agricultural land.

Land reclamation is carried out no later than 7 months from the date of the action/termination of the activity that resulted in land degradation, or from the date of discovery of land degradation, if:

• the deadline or land reclamation is not established by a decision, contract, or project documentation;
• land disturbance was caused by persons not using the land or land plots on a legal basis;
• land disturbance occurred as a result of natural phenomena.

The Land Code of the Russian Federation provides for the division of land into categories by intended purpose, according to which the legal regime of land is determined based on the land's belonging to a certain category and permitted use in accordance with the zoning of territories and legislative requirements.

The category of land to which the land plot subject to reclamation belongs also influences the choice of the reclamation direction. According to GOST R 57446-2017, the direction of reclamation is chosen taking into account the nature of the land disturbance, the ecological and economic feasibility of restoring its quality for further intended purpose and permitted use.

The following characteristics are taken into account:

• natural and climatic (including: geology, hydrology, hydrogeology, terrain, nature of the soil and vegetation layer, climate, biodiversity);
• social (including district infrastructure, economic and sanitary-hygienic conditions, taking into account the prospects and directions of the district's development);
• actual and predicted state of disturbed lands at the time of reclamation (area, forms of man-made relief, degree of natural overgrowth, presence of a fertile soil layer and potentially fertile rocks, erosion processes, degree of soil contamination);
• current and future use of disturbed lands according to their intended purpose;
• categories of disturbed lands and adjacent land plots;
• duration of the recovery period;
• mining and technological (level and state of mining technology and mechanization, presence of transport communications) factors, if technical mining reclamation is carried out;
• technologies and complex mechanization of earthmoving transport works;
• economic feasibility of reclamation work;
• geographical location of disturbed lands, current and future functional use in accordance with territorial planning and urban zoning documents;
• the opinion of the owner of the land plot subject to reclamation;
• territorial schemes, general plans for the development of territories;
• results of public hearings on the project for the reclamation of disturbed lands.

The reclamation of disturbed lands is carried out sequentially in two stages: the first is technical, the second is biological.

The technical stage of reclamation is preparatory for the subsequent biological stage and includes:

• carrying out planning work;
• formation of slopes and their terracing;
• ensuring soil stability; applying a fertile soil layer and potentially fertile rocks;
• if necessary - fundamental melioration taking into account soil types.

In addition, at the technical stage, the construction of roads, hydraulic and meliorative structures is carried out, and other works are performed that create the necessary conditions for the further use of reclaimed lands for their intended purpose or for carrying out measures to restore soil fertility (biological stage). If reclamation solutions provide for the application of a fertile soil layer and potentially fertile rocks to the reclaimed surfaces, it is necessary to establish their suitability for reclamation by determining their chemical and sanitary state, and agrochemical properties.

The biological stage of reclamation provides for:

• a complex of works to restore soil fertility, renew flora and fauna on disturbed lands;
• agrotechnical, phytomeliorative, and other measures aimed at restoring the ecological functions of soils, biological productivity, and species diversity of ecosystems. During the biological stage, an assortment of plant species recommended for a specific region is used.

For the purpose of biological land reclamation, plants are planted that can survive on contaminated soil and increase its fertility level.

Under favorable conditions, the reclamation of disturbed lands is not carried out in all stages, but one primary direction is chosen.

Main directions of reclamation and types of subsequent use of reclaimed lands:

In order to streamline work on the reclamation of disturbed territories, one should be guided by regulatory documents and relevant GOSTs. In particular, GOST R 59057-2020 "National Standard of the Russian Federation. Environmental Protection. Lands. General Requirements for the Reclamation of Disturbed Lands" is in effect.

It should be noted that restoring a disturbed territory, returning fertility to the soil, and recreating the vegetation cover is only part of the solution. It is important to restore all components of the natural environment affected by the extraction of minerals. In other words, it is necessary to carry out a comprehensive reclamation of the natural environment.

After the implementation of reclamation measures, the acceptance and transfer of the reclaimed lands must take place.