Effect of Underground Coal Mining on the Regional Soil Organic Carbon Pool in Farmland in a Mining Subsidence Area

Abstract

The soil organic carbon (SOC) pool in farmland is changing rapidly due to human activities, thereby greatly affecting the regional and global environment, as well as influencing soil fertility and crop yields. The present study investigated the effects of underground coal mining on the regional SOC pool in farmland in the Jiuli Mining Area of Xuzhou City in China as a typical coal mining region based on field sampling, chemical analysis, model construction, and spatial analysis using the software of ArcGIS. The results showed that in the mining subsidence area, spatial variations in the SOC content and soil bulk density were mainly caused by structural factors (mining subsidence, subsidence waterlogging, and other structural factors due to coal mining) at a regional scale. SOC storage in farmland soil decreased sharply in non-waterlogged subsidence farmland and seasonally waterlogged subsidence farmland in the areas with mining, whereas the SOC storage increased in waterlogged wetland after coal mining. The SOC was reduced by 102,882 tonnes (32.81%) compared with the original SOC stock as a consequence of coal mining, and thus the effect of underground coal mining on the regional SOC pool in farmland was characterized as a carbon loss process. Land-use changes, soil degradation and erosion contributed almost equally to the carbon loss process in the study area. The results of this study may facilitate evaluations of low-carbon land reclamation and ecological compensation in mining areas.

Benefit Evaluation of Water and Soil Conservation Measures in Shendong Based on Particle Swarm Optimization and the Analytic Hierarchy Process

“…The contribution of ecological benefits was 58.9%. The factors of the soil erosion rate, subsidence rate [30,65], forest and grass coverage rate, and soil and water loss management degree in the ecological benefit weights were the main factors that facilitated the ecological benefits [66].…”

Assessing the ecological regime and spatial spillover effects of a reclaimed mining subsided lake: A case study of the Pan'an Lake wetland in Xuzhou

“…Jiawang District, a resource-exhausted city in 2011, had been a coal producing city for a century, cumulatively generating 360 million tons of raw coal. Long-term, large-scale coal mining has destroyed surrounding cultivated land; caused ground subsidence, ponding and soil and water pollution and had significantly negative effects on the ecological environment of the mining area [33][34][35][36][37][38]. From 2010, Jiawang District began to carry out land reclamation and ecological restoration projects in the coal mining area.…”

Long-Term Application of Organic Wastes Improves Soil Carbon and Structural Properties in Dryland Affected by Coal Mining Activity

“…These mining processes lead to the removal of soil materials that damage the ecosystem and degrade soil properties, negatively impacting the nutrient cycle. In China, these soils located near coal mining areas are typically used for the production of crops to achieve the goal of balancing needs and population growth through increased arable soils [3,4]. Shanxi Province, in the eastern Loess Plateau, is the second-biggest coal-producing region after Inner Mongolia [5,6].…”

“…In addition to the coal mining activities, the Loess Plateau soils suffer from several problems such as severe soil erosion, the fragile ecological environment, and high chemical fertilizer applications, which have led to soil degradation [4,10]. Therefore, improving farmland management and preventing the degradation of soil resources are urgent problems in the sustainable development of the ecological environment of this area.…”