ABSTRACT
I. INTRODUCTION
Soil microbial activity has long been established as a key factor influencing soil genesis and productivity and playing a major role in the chemical and physical aspects of soil fertility, soil structure, and water relationships. Microbial processes may therefore markedly influence the type of surface reclamation required for the oil shale industry as well as the necessity for, and type of, technology used in control of leachate migration to ground and surface waters. In a commercial oil shale industry, retorted oil shales would be produced in large volume and, after disposal to the ground, may be expected to become a permanent part of the landscape in many parts of the United States. In this sense, retorted shales may be viewed as nascent soils, initially at geochemical disequilibrium with their environment and subject to most of the processes important in soil formation.
