FIGURE CAPTION
FIGURE 1 (a) Location map of the study area Chhattisgarh, India (b) satellite view of the reclaimed waste dump of Nalwa Steel and Power Limited (c) Early-revegetated waste dump surface showing growth of grass-legume mixture in the slope (after 1 year).
FIGURE 2 Sequence of reclamation of waste dump (a) regrading of dump slope, (b) blanketing the dump surface with topsoil, (c) slope is blanketed with coir mat and soil with grass-legumes seeded, and (d) the growth of grass-legume mixture on the dump slope.
FIGURE 3 Reclaimed dumps after 5-years (a) growth of grass-legumes at the dump surface, (b) growth of grass-legume at the dump slope, (c) accumulation of grass-legume mulch at the dump surface, and (d) accumulation of mulches on the waste dump slope.
FIGURE 4 Variation in mulch thickness, mulch density, soil moisture, soil temperature and air temperature at the reclaimed wasted dump with developmental ages of grass-legume revegetation.
FIGURE 5 Net N mineralization (mg kg-1week-1) in topsoil with shoot and root biomass residues of (a) legume (Stylosanthes hamata), and (b) grass (Pennisteum pedicellatum ).
FIGURE 6 Correlations between (a) mineralized N (%) and total nitrogen (TN%) concentration in legume biomass, (b) mineralized N (%) and total nitrogen (TN%) concentration in grass biomass, (c) mineralized N (%) and C:N ratio of legume biomass and, (d) mineralized N (%) and C:N ratio of grass biomass.
FIGURE 7 Effect of grass-legume mulch thickness on reclaimed soil properties (a) moisture, (b) soil organic matter (SOM), (c) microbial biomass carbon (MBC), (d) microbial biomass nitrogen (MBN), and (e) potentially mineralizable nitrogen (PMN) relative to bare soil (without mulch) with developmental ages of revegetation.
FIGURE 8 Averaged soil CO2 flux measured at reclaimed waste dump after 1 and 5-years of revegetation with grass-legume mixture and natural forest (NF).