Sustainable Land Reclamation Strategies for Post-Mining Areas: From Theory to Practice

Dear Colleagues,

Mineral resources are indispensable for the development and well-being of human society, but their exploitation comes at a price, namely the impact on the environment, especially on the land, which is why land reclamation becomes an imperative from both a legal and moral point of view.

Mining activities cause major disturbances to the soil structure, relief, hydrology, and biological communities, generating persistent risks to public health, safety, and socio-economic well-being. In the medium and long term, the erosion phenomenon, landslides, and water accumulations can amplify the risks and prevent the rehabilitation of ecosystem functions.

Typically, the process of land reclamation in post-mining areas combines concepts from geotechnics, hydrology and hydrogeology, geochemistry, ecology, soil science, water resources management, and spatial planning. At the geochemical level, pollutants (trace metals, acid drainage, etc.) can persist in former mining areas, influencing fertility, agricultural productivity, and biodiversity.

Land reclamation in post-mining areas is linked to the need to restore ecosystem services and to facilitate the transition to sustainable land uses (new ecosystems, renewable energy, educational tourism, etc.).

Land reclamation in post-mining areas requires special attention from the point of view of the legislative and regulatory framework. This allows for great flexibility of forecasts and the possibility of modifying the destination of land surfaces by taking into account the attractions and characteristics of the territory based on a complex process of analysis of the built landscape, through the most modern working methods.

This Special Issue aims to consolidate the interdisciplinary knowledge necessary for efficient, reproducible, and adaptable reclamation projects to various local contexts.

The aim is to connect scientific research with practical applications, monitoring standards, and implementation examples, and with tools for assessing social and economic impact.

This Special Issue can provide space for both fundamental research (biogeochemistry, soil dynamics, hydrology, ecology, etc.) and applied studies (pilot projects, best practice guides, case studies from different regions, etc.).

The subject is closely associated with themes such as environment, sustainability, natural resource management, industry/mining, ecological resilience, innovation in restoration and environmental policies, all specific to the Land journal.

The possibilities and directions towards which land reclamation activity can be directed are numerous, as shown by the specialized literature (landscape restoration, creation of new habitats and ecosystems, agricultural or forestry purposes, energy storage, irrigation reservoirs and/or fish farms, lakes for sports and leisure, motocross circuits, other industrial facilities, military facilities, industrial museums and tourism, areas for different artistic activities, inhabited areas, etc.), being practically limited by the imagination of those involved in this process.

Suggested themes:

1. Ecological rehabilitation and habitat restoration—native vegetation restoration, soil restoration, ecosystem services recovery, biodiversity metrics, habitat connectivity.
2. Hydrology, water management, and water quality—hydrological rehabilitation, groundwater–surface water interactions, acid mine drainage remediation, rainwater management, wetland creation, and hydric soil development.
3. Geotechnical stabilization and landform design—slope stabilization, landform reconstruction (terracing, shaping), compaction and soil structure, erosion control, mining overburden reuse.
4. Soil science, amendment strategies, and soil health—soil fertility restoration, organic matter and biochar applications, and salinity/toxicity management.
5. Biodiversity conservation and ecosystem services—restoration targets for flora and fauna, ecosystem function recovery, restoration of keystone species, and provisioning of ecosystem services (carbon sequestration, flood regulation, and food security).
6. Social, economic, and community dimensions—land use planning, livelihoods and community co-management, stakeholder engagement, social acceptance, and benefits and costs of reclamation projects.
7. Policy, governance, and regulatory frameworks—regulatory requirements, governance models, permitting and monitoring, land tenure and reuse policies, and open data and transparency.
8. Monitoring, metrics, and data science—KPIs for reclamation success, remote sensing and GIS tools, early warning indicators, standardized methodologies, and open data platforms.
9. Climate resilience and resilience-building strategies—adaptation to climate extremes, drought and flood risk management in reclaimed lands, and climate-smart land management practices.
10. Nature-based solutions and green infrastructure—wind/solar farms on reclaimed land, reforestation with multifunctional buffers, constructed wetlands, and bioswales and biosystems for drainage.
11. Technology, tools, and innovation transfer—drones and unmanned monitoring, IoT sensors, AI for pattern recognition in monitoring data, GIS-based decision support systems, and modular and scalable reclamation technologies.
12. Case studies and regional syntheses—regional best practices, cross-region learning, post-mining transformation pathways, and long-term success factors.
13. Economics, finance, and sustainability models—project financing for reclamation, payment for ecosystem services, life-cycle costing, insurance and risk management, leverage of green financing.
14. Education, outreach, and stakeholder engagement—training programs for local communities and practitioners, public communication of progress, and co-design with stakeholders.
15. Cross-cutting methodological themes to consider the above topics.

Types of accepted articles:

• Original research articles (original studies with new data).
• Review articles (syntheses, meta-analyses, registers of good practices).
• Case studies (in-depth case study from a specific area).

Dr. Florin G. Faur
Dr. Izabela Maria Apostu
Dr. Todd Robinson
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Land is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• post-mining areas
• slope stability
• land reclamation
• landscape restoration
• ecological reconstruction
• repurposing
• open pit lakes
• energy storage
• land use planning