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

Zhanjun Xu, Yuan Zhang, Jason Yang, Fenwu Liu, Rutian Bi, Hongfen Zhu, Chunjuan Lv and Jian Yu
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Zhanjun Xu: Institute of Land Science, College of Resources and Environment, Shanxi Agricultural University, Taigu 030801, China
Yuan Zhang: Institute of Land Science, College of Resources and Environment, Shanxi Agricultural University, Taigu 030801, China
Jason Yang: Institute of Land Science, College of Resources and Environment, Shanxi Agricultural University, Taigu 030801, China
Fenwu Liu: Institute of Land Science, College of Resources and Environment, Shanxi Agricultural University, Taigu 030801, China
Rutian Bi: Institute of Land Science, College of Resources and Environment, Shanxi Agricultural University, Taigu 030801, China
Hongfen Zhu: Institute of Land Science, College of Resources and Environment, Shanxi Agricultural University, Taigu 030801, China
Chunjuan Lv: Institute of Land Science, College of Resources and Environment, Shanxi Agricultural University, Taigu 030801, China
Jian Yu: College of Territorial Resources and Tourism, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu 241003, China

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 18, 1-19

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.

Keywords: coal mining; carbon loss; evaluation model; kriging interpolation; soil organic carbon pool (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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