Coal mine subsidence has limited impact on plant assemblages in an arid and semi-arid region of northwestern China

He, Yiming; He, Xin; Zherong, Liu; Shu-wen, Zhao; Bao, Liying; Li, Qi; Lü, Yan

doi:10.1080/11956860.2017.1369620

Cited by 19 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 24 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In addition, different nutrient elements showed different variations. It was reported that with a considerable increase in plant coverage and plant biomass, the accumulation of SOC and TN could be improved directly or indirectly [36,37]. Li found that soil TN increased after the reclamation of soil in a subsidence area affected by mining activities.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Land Subsidence in a Coal Mining Area Reduced Soil Fertility and Led to Soil Degradation in Arid and Semi-Arid Regions

Zhang

Ruan

et al. 2019

IJERPH

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Underground coal mining in western China causes heavy land subsidence and alters the soil ecology. However, the effects of land subsidence on soil fertility are not currently known, and the key factors governing its impact remain unclear in sandy land. We investigated the effects of land subsidence induced by underground mining on the soil quality in western China. Soil samples were collected at 0–15 cm and 15–30 cm from control and subsidence areas in three coal mines. The results showed that the soil water content (SWC), clay and silt percentage, total nitrogen (TN), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), ammonia nitrogen (NH4+-N), nitrate nitrogen (NO3--N), available phosphorus (AP), and available potassium (AK) of the subsidence areas were significantly lower than those of the control areas. The saccharase, urease, and alkaline phosphatase activities in the subsidence areas decreased compared to those in the control areas, while the sand percentage of soil tended to increase. Soil nutrient contents, bacterial quantities, and activities of soil enzymes were positively correlated with SWC. Redundancy analysis (RDA) showed that the soil particle size distribution, SWC, and electrical conductivity (EC) were the major environmental factors driving changes in soil properties. These results indicated that land subsidence induced by coal mining caused losses in surface soil water and nutrients, and ultimately led to soil quality degradation. Therefore, the reclamation of mining subsidence land might be necessary, especially in arid and semi-arid areas.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Land Subsidence in a Coal Mining Area Reduced Soil Fertility and Led to Soil Degradation in Arid and Semi-Arid Regions

Zhang

Ruan

et al. 2019

IJERPH

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Daliuta coal mine was officially exploited in 1996. Since then, the underground goaf area constitutes 70% of the total area of mine land (He et al, 2017). Long-term exploitation led to a decrease in the underground water level and soil water content, increased the depth of the surface dry sand layer, and caused severe damage to the vegetation.…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Mining Subsidence-Induced Microtopographic Effects Alter the Interaction of Soil Bacteria in the Sandy Pasture, China

Zhang

Yang

et al. 2021

Front. Environ. Sci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The microtopographic changes induced by coal mining subsidence caused a series of environmental problems such as soil erosion, and vegetation degradation in the mining area. However, the corresponding influence on surface vegetation and soil characteristic in different parts of the slope was completely different. To understand soil and vegetation degradation in coal mines and their future ecological restoration, it was crucial to investigate the origin. The relationship between soil microbial community diversity, structure, and taxa in the slope of subsidence area of different topographic locations in Daliuta coal mine, Shannxi, China, was determined by high throughput sequencing and molecular ecological network analysis. The relationship between the bacterial communities, environmental factors, and soil physicochemical properties was also investigated. We found a new topographic trait formed by surface subsidence to deteriorate the living environment of vegetation and the bacterial community. The vegetation coverage, soil water content, organic matter, and urease and dehydrogenase activities decreased significantly (p < 0.05). Although soil bacterial community diversity in the subsidence area did not differ significantly, the dominant taxa in different topographic locations varied. The molecular ecological networks representing bacterial community structure and function were also totally different. The networks in the middle and the top of the slope tend to be more complicated, and the interaction between species is obviously stronger than that of the bottom. However, the network in the bottom slope approached simplicity, and weak interaction, predominantly cooperative, was observed within and between modules. Meanwhile, the double stress of aridity and the lack of carbon source induced by subsidence also enhanced the capacity of the soil bacterial community to metabolize complex carbon sources at the bottom of the slope.

show abstract

“…Intensive underground mining can cause severe surface deformation, which often leads to geological disasters such as subsidence, landslides, and ground fissures on the surface (He, Xiao, Zhao, Deng, & Hu, 2020; Wang, Zhang, & Feng, 2019); these disturbances often physically damage the roots of vegetation and bury entire plant communities, which leads to the degradation and ecological succession of the plant community (Li et al, 2013; Mi et al, 2019). Moreover, this type of surface deformation and ground fissures will also change the hydrological processes such as infiltration of precipitation, soil evapotranspiration, runoff collection, and a decline of the water table (Lechner, Baumgartl, Matthew, & Glenn, 2016; Sun et al, 2020); while these changes in hydrological conditions may not lead to an alteration in the type of plant communities present, they often limit the growth of vegetation and the development of the plant community (He et al, 2017; Lechner et al, 2016). The two kinds of disturbances described above will cause short‐ and long‐term effects on the vegetation of a mining area, and different plant communities may also show various degrees of response.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The long‐term effects of underground mining on the growth of tree, shrub, and herb communities in arid and semiarid areas in China

Yang

Hou

et al. 2020

Land Degrad Dev

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Underground mining (as opposed to open‐cast) often causes large‐scale subsidence, leading to various types of disturbances to surface vegetation. Adequate quantitative assessment of the long‐term effects of underground mining on the growth of different plant communities is important and still lacking. To address these issues, a vegetation growth contract model (VGCM) was proposed, and six indicators including the growth trend (GT), annual growth (AG), normalized spectrum entropy (Hsn), as well as the average value of annual‐average normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI; ANDVIave), annual‐maximum NDVI (ANDVImax), and annual‐minimum NDVI (ANDVImin) were selected. The long‐term effects of underground mining (EM) on the herb, shrub, and tree communities in the Nanjiao mining area, China, from 1987 to 2017 were evaluated. The results show that the plant communities, which maintained the same type in the areas influenced and not influenced by mining, accounting for 48.07% and 46% of the total area, respectively. As for these plant communities, underground mining had a significant negative effect on the AG, ANDVIave, and ANDVImax of both the herb and tree communities, while it had a positive effect on the GT and Hsn of the shrub community. Overall, underground mining had a negative effect on these three types of plant communities, and the EMs of the herb, tree, and shrub communities were −15.10, −6.79, and −4.03%, respectively. This research could provide a reference for evaluating the long‐term effects of mining activities on vegetation, and also give more insights into the effects of underground mining on different plant communities.

show abstract

Coal mine subsidence has limited impact on plant assemblages in an arid and semi-arid region of northwestern China

Cited by 19 publications

References 24 publications

Land Subsidence in a Coal Mining Area Reduced Soil Fertility and Led to Soil Degradation in Arid and Semi-Arid Regions

Land Subsidence in a Coal Mining Area Reduced Soil Fertility and Led to Soil Degradation in Arid and Semi-Arid Regions

Mining Subsidence-Induced Microtopographic Effects Alter the Interaction of Soil Bacteria in the Sandy Pasture, China

The long‐term effects of underground mining on the growth of tree, shrub, and herb communities in arid and semiarid areas in China

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About