Soil compaction in topsoil replacement during mining reclamation

Current U.S. mining regulations require revegetation in reclaiming surface mines. Excessive soil compaction can be an impediment to successful revegetation in poor soil conditions common to Eastern U.S. coal mine sites. A field study was performed to determine the bulk densities of soils that had been spread by either bulldozers or scrapers at a strip mine site. Moisture-density relationships for the soils were determined from the field samples. These were compared with samples compacted by the Standard Proctor compaction test. The results of the study indicate that the degree of compaction, could be lessened through proper soil handling procedures.