Search Results (263)

Drawing on an extensive literature review, this paper identifies key dimensions of social impact and land management in surface mining areas, including settlement relocation, long-term land occupation, limited economic diversification, demographic decline, and stakeholder distrust. These findings are then critically applied to the Ptolemais lignite basin, where six decades of large-scale surface mining reshaped land use patterns, displaced settlements, and structured a highly specialized regional economy. The research combines qualitative literature analysis with a case study approach, supported by socioeconomic and demographic indicators. Results show that (i) lignite exploitation generated employment, infrastructure, and regional income multipliers but also structural vulnerabilities and other impacts, (ii) land occupation and settlement relocation as an impact of mine expansion created long-term spatial constraints, and (iii) the energy transition phase intensified demographic, unemployment, and governance challenges. The paper argues that effective post-lignite restructuring is related to systematic reclamation strategies, integrated land-use planning, optimal exploitation of reclaimed land, diversification beyond energy production, and participatory governance frameworks. By linking international theoretical insights with empirical evidence from Western Macedonia, the study contributes to the debate on socially just and spatially balanced transitions in former coal and lignite regions. Full article

The transition of coal regions under the European Green Deal and Just Transition Fund creates a need for quantitative, transparent monitoring of ecological recovery on post-mining land. This study presents an autonomous UAV-based methodology for high-resolution monitoring of vegetation dynamics on a reclaimed coal waste heap in Upper Silesia, Poland. A DJI Mavic 3 Multispectral platform with RTK positioning conducted approximately biweekly flights from August 2024 to October 2025 over three study plots acquiring RGB and multispectral imagery at approximately 4 cm/pixel. Photogrammetric processing in DJI Terra produced radiometrically corrected orthomosaics and NDVI maps, which were analyzed using an automated QGIS workflow for reprojection, clipping, NDVI-based classification, and quantification of vegetation area across three different reclamation variants. The results indicate that intensive soil conditioning through the application of compost derived from bio-waste achieved a maximum vegetation cover of 94.4%. This treatment consistently maintained the highest level of cover during periods of environmental stress and significantly surpassed both seeding-only treatments and those combining seeding with irrigation. Baseline vegetation cover below 6% confirmed the necessity of active reclamation. This workflow provides rapid and reproducible metrics that are suitable for adaptive management and regulatory reporting. It also offers a scalable template for monitoring coal waste heaps across Europe undergoing SDG-aligned reclamation. Full article

Open-pit lignite mining causes significant environmental alterations, particularly through the removal of soil deposits and the creation of external dumps, which necessitate effective reclamation to restore landscape structures. This study evaluates the potential of using multi-temporal remote sensing data to assess the effectiveness of forest reclamation on selected external dumps of the Adamów, Bełchatów, and Turów Lignite Mines in Poland. Using Landsat imagery spanning five decades from 1976 to 2023, the study monitors vegetation development through the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and the Soil-Adjusted Vegetation Index (SAVI). Reclaimed forest stands were compared against undisturbed reference forests within a 30 km buffer zone, with recovery defined as achieving 95% of the reference values. The results indicate that most studied sites reached a state of recovery, with success closely linked to the specific reclamation measures implemented and the age of the forest stands. Notably, the Adamów mine, which utilized Bender’s target species method, demonstrated rapid results, achieving high similarity to reference forests early in the analyzed period. In contrast, recovery in Bełchatów and Turów was more gradual, following trajectories influenced by pioneer and biodynamic afforestation methods. Ultimately, the study confirms that remote sensing is a highly efficient tool for monitoring extensive post-mining areas over long periods, providing a general assessment of biological restoration success. Full article

Accurately monitoring the surface stabilization of waste dumps in open-pit coal mines is critical for hazard prevention and ecological reclamation. In arid and semi-arid regions, traditional optical remote sensing vegetation indices suffer from a systematic “response lag” in assessing physical stability due to the slow establishment of pioneer vegetation. To overcome this biological limitation, this study proposes a quantitative spatiotemporal monitoring framework based on time-series Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) coherence to detect early-stage geotechnical stabilization. Using Sentinel-1 imagery of the Balongtu coal mine, a sliding-window detection algorithm was developed to capture the physical transition of surface electromagnetic scattering mechanisms from active disturbance to stable consolidation. The main findings are as follows: (1) Statistical analysis identified a critical geophysical coherence threshold of 0.15, which effectively and objectively distinguishes active dumping disturbance zones from structurally stable areas. (2) The spatiotemporal evolution dynamics of the completed dump areas from 2017 to 2023 were successfully characterized, revealing that 87.6% of the open-pit areas achieved physical stabilization within three years post-mining, with a spatial distribution highly consistent with the objective operational rule of “mining first, dumping later”. (3) Accuracy assessment using 700 spatiotemporally balanced validation points—derived through strict visual interpretation of high-resolution optical imagery—demonstrated high algorithm reliability, achieving overall accuracies (OA) of 87.57% and 90.43% at half-yearly and annual monitoring intervals, respectively. By decoupling physical surface stabilization from optical greenness, this study provides a timely abiotic precursor indicator, offering scientific, quantitative decision support for precision ecological zoning and accelerated land turnover approval in mining areas. Full article

As a typical example of a high-density city, Macau’s medical resource allocation system, a key component of the city’s complex socio-technical system, suffers from significant spatial imbalances, which restricts the overall effectiveness of the medical service system. Based on the perspective of systems science theory, regards the allocation of medical resources as a dynamic system with multiple coupled factors. It comprehensively utilizes systems research methods such as POI data mining and space syntax analysis and employs techniques such as kernel density analysis and spatial structure coupling models to systematically evaluate the spatial structure, resource accessibility, and service balance of Macau’s medical service system. It found that (1) the Macau Peninsula has concentrated core medical resources, such as the Conde de São Januário Hospital (CHCSJ) and Kiang Wu Hospital, which form a core subsystem with high service saturation. Excessive concentration of resources has led to high concentration of a certain type of facility. (2) Taipa Island and the Cotai Reclamation Area have created an extended subsystem of medical resources along with urban development. However, the northern area does not have enough facilities, and its internal structure is not balanced. (3) Coloane Island has only basic health stations remaining, forming a marginal subsystem with scarce medical resources, which has a significant hierarchical gap with the core and extended subsystems. This spatial pattern of “saturated Macau peninsula, expanded Taipa Island, and sparse Coloane Island” is essentially a concrete manifestation of the imbalance between the medical resource allocation system and the urban spatial development system. Therefore, based on system optimization theory, it proposes constructing a multi-level, networked spatial system for medical facilities to promote the coordinated operation of various regional medical subsystems and achieve overall functional optimization and a balanced layout for Macau’s medical service system. This research analyzes the imbalance mechanism of high-density urban public service systems using systems science methods, providing not only a scientific basis for the precise optimization of Macau’s medical resource allocation system but also a practical reference for the planning and governance of similar high-density urban public service systems under a systems thinking framework. Full article

This paper explores the evolution of royalty payments from the extraction of reserved mineral resources in the Czech Republic between 1992 and 2025, with a particular focus on their allocation for the reclamation of environmentally affected areas. It presents the legislative framework governing these payments, including Acts No. 44/1988 Coll., No. 61/1988 Coll., and No. 280/2009 Coll., as well as Government Regulation No. 354/2023 Coll., which collectively define the obligations of mining companies regarding royalty payments. The study addresses the adjustment of royalty rates in response to current economic conditions to ensure sustainable financing of environmental projects. It also emphasizes the importance of continuous evaluation of the regulatory system to maintain a balance between the economic capacity of extractive industries and the protection of the environment. Full article

After the completion of open-pit coal mining, land reclamation is implemented to restore the disturbed eco–hydrological system, for which accurate soil moisture characterization is essential. We evaluated the feasibility and performance of an Auto-Regressive Moving Average (ARMA)-based ground-penetrating radar (GPR) inversion scheme for estimating soil moisture in a reclaimed mine area. GPR data were acquired over a reconstructed three-layer soil profile in a reclaimed open-pit coal mine, and soil moisture content was independently determined using the oven-drying method on core samples. An ARMA model was used to describe the relationship between the GPR reflections and soil electromagnetic properties and to invert the vertical distribution of soil moisture. The ARMA-derived GPR estimates reproduced the measured moisture profile well within the depth interval of 1.4–3.0 m and revealed the clear vertical zonation of soil moisture associated with the engineered layering. Correlation coefficients between the ARMA-inverted GPR estimates and oven-drying measurements ranged from 0.64–0.78 for 0–1.4 m, 0.84–0.93 for 1.4–2.2 m, and 0.98–0.99 for 2.2–3.0 m, indicating that inversion accuracy improves systematically with depth. These results demonstrate that ARMA-based GPR inversion provides a reliable and non-destructive approach for quantifying soil moisture in reclaimed mine soils and offers practical support for monitoring and assessing the effectiveness of reclamation in open-pit coal mining areas. Full article

Reclamation measures are essential tools for enhancing ecosystem functions and promoting ecological sustainability. This study focused on the Jiangnan mining area within the Muli coalfield in Qinghai Province, China. Four organic fertilizer reclamation treatments were established, namely, unfertilized control (CK, 0), low fertilizer (LF, consisting of sheep manure at 165 m³/ha and commercial organic fertilizer at 7.5 t/ha), medium fertilizer (MF, using 330 m³/ha of sheep manure and 15.0 t/ha of commercial organic fertilizer), and high fertilizer (HF, using 495 m³/ha of sheep manure and 22.5 t/ha of commercial organic fertilizer), with a natural meadow near the experimental site selected as a reference for evaluation. Through a field vegetation survey and indoor analysis, the primary productivity, water conservation, carbon cycle, nitrogen cycle, and phosphorus cycle of five ecosystem functions and ecosystem multifunctionality (EMF) were quantified, and the trade-off relationships among ecosystem functions were analyzed. The findings indicate the following: (1) Compared to the unfertilized control, organic fertilizer reclamation significantly enhanced all individual ecosystem functions and EMF, with the EMF value under the high-fertilizer treatment (EMF = 0.69) even exceeding that of the natural grassland (EMF = 0.60). (2) This intervention altered the original trade-off patterns (E_RMSD = 0.03), intensifying trade-offs among multiple ecological functions (E_RMSD = 0.09), whereas natural grassland exhibited the strongest trade-off intensity (E_RMSD = 0.26). In summary, while organic fertilizer reclamation effectively enhances the multifunctionality of alpine mining ecosystems, it also amplifies trade-off effects among ecological functions to varying degrees. Therefore, future long-term positioning observations are required to evaluate the ecological stability and sustainability of this restoration technology under extreme climatic conditions and to further explore reasonable grazing and mowing management plans in order to coordinate multiple ecological functions, thereby promoting the development of the reclamation ecosystem in alpine mining areas toward coordination and health. Full article

Mining activities exert profound and long-lasting impacts on terrestrial eco-environmental systems, manifesting across multiple spatial and temporal scales throughout the mining lifecycle—from exploration and extraction to post-mining reclamation. Remote sensing technology serves as an advanced monitoring and analysis tool, playing a critical role in the continuous monitoring of mining-related eco-environmental disturbances. This work provides a systematic review of remote sensing applications for mining-related eco-environmental monitoring and assessment. We first outline the importance of mineral resource development and summarize the associated eco-environmental issues. The second section presents an overview of remote sensing platforms and data types currently employed for monitoring in mining areas. The third section systematically summarizes recent research advances in key mining-related eco-environmental dimensions, including spatiotemporal land-use and land-cover analysis, terrain and deformation monitoring, natural environmental factor disturbances assessment, comprehensive ecological-environment quality evaluation, and post-mining reclamation assessment. Finally, we analyze the opportunities, challenges and future perspectives associated with remote sensing applications in mining areas. This review aims to provide reference for advancing remote sensing-based eco-environmental monitoring in mining areas, thereby supporting more effective, long-term monitoring and informed decision-making within the mining sector. Full article

Forested areas in Poland comprise numerous post-mining sites that hinder effective forest management. Such mining remnants may pose a threat to humans, animals, and operating forest machines. This study aimed to determine the feasibility of inventorying such man-made landforms as mining waste heaps, excavations, remnants of shallow shafts, adits, etc., using the Digital Elevation Model (DEM) based on Airborne Laser Scanning (ALS) data provided by the national agency (the Head Office of Geodesy and Cartography—HOGC) as open data. The DEM, when combined with other cartographic materials using GIS, accurately reflects the anthropogenic transformation evident in the topography. This paper presents the results of inventorying remnants of iron ore mining in the present-day forested area located between Krzepice, Kłobuck, and Częstochowa in southern Poland. The identification and inventory of post-mining landforms, mainly mounds resulting from shallow shaft mining operations, were supplemented by their digitization, automatically providing information on parameters such as perimeter (ranged in most cases from 24.3 to 159 m), surface area (46.9 to 1656 m²), length and width (7.8 to 59.2 m). The heights of the investigated structures were also read from the DEM, ranging from 0.3 to 4.1 m. Much larger structures were also identified, but they occurred accidentally (up to 23.5 m in height). In this manner, approximately 823 morphological forms were characterized, resulting in a database. Test fieldwork was then conducted to verify the DEM readings. It was proposed to calculate deformation indexes (Id [%]) for forested areas and apply them when estimating the forest management hindrance index used by the State Forests. The studied forest compartments managed by State Forests were characterized by an Id value from 0.1 to 55.5%. This type of measure provides a helpful tool in planning forestry operations in areas with diverse topography, including those transformed by mining activities. The actual environmental impact is highlighted. Forest management practices in the study area must take into consideration, in particular, topography, as well as geology and hydrology. Studies have shown that the DEM based on the ALS data is sufficiently accurate to detect even minor post-mining deformations (which may be important, in particular, in inaccessible areas). The recorded parameters can be considered when planning management, protection interventions, or reclamation activities. Full article

The paper focuses on the analysis of the impacts of climate change on the economic performance of the studied brownfield industrial park in the Upper Nitra region of Slovakia. The aim of this paper was to suggest ways of eliminating possible negative environmental burdens and the creation of site reclamation as a result of the termination of mining and the elimination of adverse environmental impacts in the selected region. The intention was to present the main causes of the decline of mining activity, with its environmental, economic and social consequences of the end of mining. The natural conclusion of the mining process is the comprehensive revitalisation of the area affected by mining activities. We have analysed the process of revitalisation of water areas and systems affected by mining activities and quantified the amount of investments needed for this revitalisation. Full article

Degraded post-mining landscapes require reclamation strategies that ensure soil stability, environmental safety and successful vegetation establishment. This study evaluated two soil cover systems applied between 2020 and 2025 on a mining spoil heap in Libiąż, Poland: a two-layer (TL) cover with a soil substitute layer and a multilayer (ML) cover incorporating additional insulating materials. Both covers were non-saline and mildly alkaline. The applied methods supported favorable soil conditions after five years, with stable organic matter (24.48–28.26%), nitrogen (4.5–4.9 g/kg) and phosphorus (1.5–1.6 g/kg) contents, while potassium decreased markedly (from 17.1 to 6.44–6.83 g/kg), likely due to plant uptake or leaching. Leachate analyses showed low concentrations of toxic metals and salinity-related ions, confirming the environmental safety and inert properties of the soil substitute. Vegetation assessments revealed differences between reclamation systems, with Phragmites australis exhibiting greater stalk length, plant density and biomass in the TL cover. Establishment costs were also substantially lower for TL (EUR 1.65/m²) than for ML (EUR 6.14/m²). These results indicate that soil substitute covers provide a safe, cost-effective and functionally efficient reclamation option that supports circular economy principles by reusing mining waste and coal combustion by-products, while Phragmites australis enhances vegetation development and overall reclamation success. Full article

Fertilization is an effective measure to rapidly improve soil quality in reclaimed mining areas. However, the combined effects of fertilization regimes and reclamation age on phosphorus (P) fraction transformation and the pqqC-harboring microbial community in reclaimed soils remain unclear. In this study, we investigated the dynamics of inorganic P fractions and the pqqC-harboring bacterial community under different fertilization treatments (no fertilizer: CK; chemical fertilizer: CF; organic manure: M) and reclamation ages (1, 5, and 10 years) in a coal mining reclamation area of Shanxi Province, using long-term field experiments combined with high-throughput sequencing. Results showed that compared with the CF and CK treatments, the M treatment significantly increased soil organic matter (SOM), available P (AP), and total nitrogen (TN) content, and promoted the conversion of moderately labile P (NaOH-Pi) to labile P fractions (H₂O-Pi, NaHCO₃-Pi). Meanwhile, the pqqC gene abundance increased with reclamation age, with the M treatment maintaining the highest levels in all fertilization regimes. Co-occurrence network analysis of core species revealed that the number of connections gradually decreased and the network structure simplified with increasing reclamation age. Correspondingly, the microbial community transitioned from an initial stage characterized by rapid response and intense competition to a stable phase. Specifically, Pseudomonas spp. played a key role in P mobilization. Structural equation modeling (SEM) further demonstrated that reclamation age directly promoted the pqqC gene abundance and AP content, whereas fertilization indirectly influenced P transformation by regulating microbial diversity. Our findings reveal that reclamation age and fertilization synergistically shape the inorganic P profile and the associated bacterial community, providing insights for developing targeted P management strategies in reclaimed lands. Full article

Sabina vulgaris is a keystone shrub species endemic to arid northwestern China, renowned for its exceptional drought tolerance, sand fixation capabilities, and critical role in desert ecosystem stability. This study investigates the impact of coal mining activities on the spatiotemporal dynamics of S. vulgaris shrublands in the ecologically fragile Mu Us Sandy Land, focusing on the Longde Coal Mine adjacent to the Shenmu S. vulgaris Nature Reserve. Utilizing seven periods (2013–2025) of 2 m resolution Gaofen-1 (GF-1) satellite imagery spanning 12 years of mining operations, we implemented a deep learning approach combining UAV-derived hyperspectral ground truth data and the SegU-Net semantic segmentation model to map shrub distribution via GF-1 data with high precision. Classification accuracy was rigorously validated through confusion matrix analysis (incorporating the Kappa coefficient and overall accuracy metrics). Results reveal contrasting trends: while the S. vulgaris Protection Area exhibited substantial expansion (e.g., Southern Section coverage grew from 2.6 km² in 2013 to 7.88 km² in 2025), mining panels experienced significant degradation. Within Panel 202, coverage declined by 15.4% (58.4 km² to 49.5 km²), and Panel 203 showed a 18.5% decrease (3.16 km² to 2.57 km²) over the study period. These losses correlate spatially and temporally with mining-induced groundwater depletion and land subsidence, disrupting the shrub’s shallow-root water access strategy. The study demonstrates that coal mining drives fragmentation and coverage reduction in S. vulgaris communities through mechanisms including (1) direct vegetation destruction, (2) aquifer disruption impairing drought adaptation, and (3) habitat fragmentation. These findings underscore the necessity for targeted ecological restoration strategies integrating groundwater management and progressive reclamation in mining-affected arid regions. Full article

Wetlands provide critical ecological and socio-economic benefits, covering approximately 45% of the Athabasca Oil Sands Region in Alberta, Canada. However, open-pit oil sand mining has led to widespread wetland loss. While reclamation efforts are ongoing, the development of effective wetland monitoring methods remain essential. This paper presents a novel approach to tracking wetland dynamics in reclaimed and reference landscapes using Sentinel-1 SAR and Sentinel-2 multispectral imagery. We assess surface water extent and emergent vegetation, validating our satellite-based measurements against high-resolution UAV-derived wetland area data ($R^2=0.902$). Our results reveal minor differences in intra-annual variability in wetland area between wetlands in reclaimed versus those in reference landscapes. Wetlands exhibit a positive log-linear relationship between maximum depth and variability in open-water area, a pattern that was consistent between landscape types. Intra- and interannual variability in spatial extent were both positively associated with wetland area. This paper introduces the first ground-truthed automated wetland monitoring approach for the region. These findings document the similarities in range of variation between wetlands developing in reclaimed and reference landscapes and provide a simple tool to support long-term monitoring to document the persistence of wetlands forming in reclaimed landscapes. Full article