Compaction of soils by heavy earthmoving equipment is an endemic problem in the rehabilitation of land after strip?mining. Accordingly, special tillage operations and other precautions to reduce the severity of compaction are practised on strip coal mines of the Anglo American Coal Corporation. There is, however, a lack of information in South Africa on the extent to which soil penetrability is affected by such compaction (which is different from that occurring in agricultural situations), its effect on plant growth, and the efficacy of tillage operations. In a study carried out on one of Amcoal's collieries, dry matter production of Eragrostis tef and penetrometer data were used to quantify the compaction effects.
Journal articles from the Grassland Society of Southern Africa (GSSA) African Journal of Range and Forage Science as well as related articles and reports from throughout the southern African region.