Chemical Characteristic of Forest Soil and Gold Mine Tailings and Their Effect to the Plant Growth of Two Leguminous Trees

Aims: To clarify chemical characteristic of gold mine tailings and its effect to the growth of two leguminous trees of Falcataria molucana and Albizia saman under greenhouse conditions.

Study Design: Field samples collection, analyze their samples of forest soil and tailings from gold mining area and determined the effect to the plant growth of two leguminous trees.

Place and Duration of Study: Laboratory of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Yamagata University, and The Forest Research and Development Centre, Bogor, West Java, Indonesia between 2012 to 2013.

Methodology: Soil pH, total carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and available phosphorus (P) concentrations, cation exchange capacity, C/N ratio and exchangeable K, Na, Mg, Ca, Fe and Ni concentrations were analyzed. F. moluccana and A. saman were grown for 15 weeks and their shoot heights, shoot and root dry weights were calculated.

Results: Total N, carbon and available P of gold mine tailings were lower than that of forest soil. CEC, Mg, K and Fe of gold mine tailings were lower than that of forest soil. C/N ratio of gold mine tailings werehigher than that of forest soil. Soil chemical characteristics of pH (KCL), pH (H2O), Ca and Na of gold-mine tailings were higher than that of forest soil. There was no difference in Ni between forest soil and gold mine tailings. Shoot dry weight and root dry weight of F. molucana on gold mine tailings were lower than that of forest soil. Root dry weight of A. saman grown on gold mine tailings were higher than that of forest soil. Shoot dry weight of A. saman grown on gold mine tailings were tended to have higher than that on forest soil.

Conclusion: Gold mine tailings resulted from gold processing decrease chemical characteristic compare to the forest soil and its inhibit to the growth of two leguminous tree, F. molucana and A. Saman.