The Landscape Pattern Evolution of Typical Open-Pit Coal Mines Based on Land Use in Inner Mongolia of China during 20 Years

Lijia Zhang, Zihan Zhai, Yan Zhou, Shihan Liu and Liwei Wang
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Lijia Zhang: Land Consolidation and Rehabilitation Center, Ministry of Natural Resources, Beijing 100035, China
Zihan Zhai: Land Consolidation and Rehabilitation Center, Ministry of Natural Resources, Beijing 100035, China
Yan Zhou: Land Consolidation and Rehabilitation Center, Ministry of Natural Resources, Beijing 100035, China
Shihan Liu: School of Land Science and Technology, China University of Geosciences (Beijing), Beijing 100083, China
Liwei Wang: Land Consolidation and Rehabilitation Center, Ministry of Natural Resources, Beijing 100035, China

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 15, 1-14

Abstract: As the province most abundant in mineral resources in China, Inner Mongolia has more than 200 open-pit coal mines. The coal mining activities seriously hinder the sustainable use of regional land and the improvement of residents’ wellbeing. Taking 13 typical open-pit coal mines of Inner Mongolia as the study area, combining remote sensing images and the Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform, the trend features of spatial and temporal evolution of land use and landscape patterns from 2001 to 2020 were analyzed by transfer matrix and landscape pattern index methods. According to the mining plan and reclamation measures of the “Land Reclamation Plan”, the impacts of ecological restoration projects on land-use structure and landscape patterns were evaluated. The results showed that the following: (1) The landscape types of typical open-pit coal mining areas were mainly grassland, cropland, and industrial landscapes. The change trend of landscape pattern was obvious over the past 20 years, and the changes in grassland and mining land were relatively large, which decreased by 56.51 km 2 and increased by 60.42 km 2 , respectively. (2) Land reclamation and ecological restoration projects had positive impacts on landscape pattern changes. With the transformation from mining activities to land reclamation activities beginning in 2007, nearly 70% of the study area showed a decreasing trend in landscape fragmentation, indicating a better landscape pattern of mining area. (3) Positive policy orientation of mine ecological restoration promoted more reasonable landscape patterns.

Keywords: open-pit coal mine; land use; landscape pattern; ecological restoration; land reclamation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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