Spatial estimate of ecological and environmental damage in an underground coal mining area on the Loess Plateau: Implications for planning restoration interventions

Hou, Huping; Ding, Zhongyi; Zhang, Shaoliang; Guo, Shanchuan; Yang, Yongjun; Chen, Zanxu; Mi, Jiaxin; Xi, Wang

doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.125061

Cited by 45 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…The heavy metals accumulated in a large number of animals and plants will migrate to the human body [17], seriously threatening human health. At present, the methods of ecological restoration include: (1) performing harmless treatment on mine water and coal gangue, treating waste water by electrodialysis and lime neutralization [18], and recycling coal gangue; (2) preventing dust in open-pit mine and drainage and utilize coalbed methane; (3) reclaiming mining land to improve soil; (4) selecting excellent plant species to recover vegetation [19]; (4) strengthening construction of forest and grassland [20] to bring soil erosion under control.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Coal mine is an important resource for social development, which has very important economic value [1]. It is distributed in China widely but unevenly, and it concentrates in areas with a fragile ecological environment in Northwest China [2]. In addition, a series of changes caused by coal mining, such as soil loss, vegetation damage, etc., often aggravate the deterioration of the environment [3].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Study on soil pollution caused by heavy metals in coal mining areas and vegetation restoration in surrounding areas

Wang¹

2021

Preprint

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In this study, taking a coal mining area as an example, three vegetation restoration modes were designed: Populus L., Ligustrum lucidum Ait., and Amygdalus persica L., and soil and plant samples were collected to determine and evaluate the heavy metals. It was found that all the three modes were effective in eliminating heavy metal pollution in the soil, especially Populus L. and Ligustrum lucidum Ait.; in the soil layer at a depth of 0–20 cm, the content of Cd was the lowest (2.68 mg/kg) in Populus L., and the content of Cr and Pb was the lowest (58.64 mg/kg and 95.36 mg/kg) in Ligustrum lucidum Ait., which was significantly lower than that in the bare land. The evaluation results demonstrated that the pollution under Populus L. and Ligustrum lucidum Ait. modes was moderate. In the aspect of the heavy metal content in plants, the content of Cd was the lowest, and the content of Cr and Pb was high. In the same plant, the content of heavy metals in the leaf was the lowest, followed by the stem and root. The experimental results show that the vegetation restoration mode can relieve the heavy metal pollution, which makes some contributions to solve the ecological restoration problem in coal mining areas.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Study on soil pollution caused by heavy metals in coal mining areas and vegetation restoration in surrounding areas

Wang¹

2021

Preprint

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“…Quantitative relationships between ground fissures and changes in soil properties would provide cost-effective method for environmental impacts assessment in mining area on a large scale. On the Loess Plateau, the subsidence induced from underground mining usually cover a large area , and it would be hardly to perform field survey to investigate mining-impacts in such a ravine area with complex topography [37]. Therefore, it is necessary to apply remote sensing for a rapid environmental impacts assessment, especially the images with high-resolution acquired by unmanned aerial vehicles.…”

Section: Applications Of Quantitative Relationships Between Ground Fissures and Changes In Soil Propertiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impacts of Ground Fissures on Soil Properties in an Underground Mining Area on the Loess Plateau, China

Yang

Hou

et al. 2022

Land

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Mining-induced ground fissures are the main type of geological disasters found on the Loess Plateau, China, and cause great impacts on the soil properties around ground fissures. However, little research has been conducted on the quantitative relationship between ground fissures and changes in soil properties. To address this, 40 ground fissures in the Yungang mining area, Datong City, Shanxi Province, China, were investigated, and changes in soil properties (soil organic matter, soil moisture, field capacity, bulk density, soil porosity, and grain compositions) were revealed by the difference in soil properties between the edge and contrast points around ground fissures. Redundancy analyses were used to illustrate the relationships between the value (Si_DV) and percentage (Si_DP) of the difference in soil properties between the edge and contrast points, as well as the ground fissures. The characteristics of ground fissures that had a significant correlation according to Pearson correlation analysis with Si_DP were selected and analyzed via multivariate linear fitting model, random forest model, and Back Propagation (BP) neural network model, respectively. Results show that soil organic matter, soil moisture content, bulk density, field capacity, and the content of clay at the edge points were significantly less than those at the contrast points; conversely, soil porosity at the edge points was significantly greater. The average percentage of the difference between the edge points and contrast points of ground fissures in these six properties was 15.27%, while soil moisture content showed the greatest change (20.65%). The Si_DP was significantly correlated with the width, slope, and vegetation coverage of ground fissures; however, the vegetation coverage was the determining factor. BP neural network model had the greatest performance in revealing the relationships between ground fissures and changes in soil properties. The model for soil organic matter had the highest accuracy (R2 = 0.89), and all others were above 0.5. This research provides insights into the quantitative relationship between ground fissures and their impacts on soil physical properties, which can be used in conjunction with remote sensing images to rapidly assess soil erosion risks caused by mining on a large scale, given that soil physical properties are closely related to topsoil stability.

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“…The Loess Plateau is the most important coal production base in China (Zhao et al, 2013). However, the ecological environment in this area is fragile and the mining of coal has exacerbated environmental deterioration, thus resulting in considerable land degradation (Guan, 2019; Guo et al, 2019; Hou et al, 2021; Yuan et al, 2017). Coal mining operations exert a substantial impact on the environment, mainly manifested as surface subsidence, cracks, and waste accumulation (Li, 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Restoration of damaged ecosystems in desert steppe open‐pit coal mines: Effects on soil nematode communities and functions

Han

Gao

et al. 2021

Land Degrad Dev

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Repair of damaged areas in open-pit (opencast) coal mines has emerged as an important environmental concern. Our research investigated the mechanism by which different ecological restoration methods affected soil nematode communities in damaged areas of desert steppe coal mines. Using high-throughput sequencing technology, nematode community composition, diversity, and function were analyzed to determine the response of nematodes to different ecological restoration methods in damaged areas of coal mines. For slope rehabilitation, vegetation blanket restoration exhibited more favorable effects than those exhibited by vegetation bag restoration and natural restoration. For rehabilitation of the platform area under the slope, the diversity of soil nematodes and the soil fauna analysis under alien soil restoration conditions were performed and exhibited similar characteristics to those of the native vegetation. Findings based on Linear discriminant analysis Effect Size (LEfSe) multi-level discriminant analysis and determination of shared genera suggest that Paraphelenchus, Cervidellus, Panagrolaimus, Microdorylaimus, Cephalobus, and Ecumenicus may be the key genera of soil nematodes in the damaged ecosystem of open-pit coal mines in the desert steppe. We found that reasonable water and fertilizer management in slope restoration and under-slope platform area restoration may play a key role in the restoration of damaged ecosystems in open-pit coal mines. We comprehensively analyzed the response of soil nematode communities and their functions to different ecological restoration methods, and provided a reference for evaluating the quality of underground ecosystem restoration of damaged areas in abandoned desert steppe open-pit coal mines.

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Spatial estimate of ecological and environmental damage in an underground coal mining area on the Loess Plateau: Implications for planning restoration interventions

Cited by 45 publications

References 48 publications

Study on soil pollution caused by heavy metals in coal mining areas and vegetation restoration in surrounding areas

Study on soil pollution caused by heavy metals in coal mining areas and vegetation restoration in surrounding areas

Impacts of Ground Fissures on Soil Properties in an Underground Mining Area on the Loess Plateau, China

Restoration of damaged ecosystems in desert steppe open‐pit coal mines: Effects on soil nematode communities and functions

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