Spectral and Soil Quality Index for Monitoring Environmental Rehabilitation and Soil Carbon Stock in an Amazonian Sandstone Mine

Paula Godinho Ribeiro, Gabriel Caixeta Martins, Markus Gastauer, Ediu Carlos da Silva Junior, Diogo Corrêa Santos, Cecílio Frois Caldeira Júnior, Rosane Barbosa Lopes Cavalcante, Douglas Silva dos Santos, Marco Aurélio Carbone Carneiro, Rafael Borges da Silva Valadares, Wilson da Rocha Nascimento Junior, Guilherme Oliveira, Pedro Walfir Martins e Souza Filho and Silvio Junio Ramos
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Paula Godinho Ribeiro: Instituto Tecnológico Vale, Rua Boaventura da Silva, 955, Belém 66055-090, PA, Brazil
Gabriel Caixeta Martins: Instituto Tecnológico Vale, Rua Boaventura da Silva, 955, Belém 66055-090, PA, Brazil
Markus Gastauer: Instituto Tecnológico Vale, Rua Boaventura da Silva, 955, Belém 66055-090, PA, Brazil
Ediu Carlos da Silva Junior: Instituto Tecnológico Vale, Rua Boaventura da Silva, 955, Belém 66055-090, PA, Brazil
Diogo Corrêa Santos: Instituto Tecnológico Vale, Rua Boaventura da Silva, 955, Belém 66055-090, PA, Brazil
Cecílio Frois Caldeira Júnior: Instituto Tecnológico Vale, Rua Boaventura da Silva, 955, Belém 66055-090, PA, Brazil
Rosane Barbosa Lopes Cavalcante: Instituto Tecnológico Vale, Rua Boaventura da Silva, 955, Belém 66055-090, PA, Brazil
Douglas Silva dos Santos: Instituto Tecnológico Vale, Rua Boaventura da Silva, 955, Belém 66055-090, PA, Brazil
Marco Aurélio Carbone Carneiro: Soil Science Department, Federal University of Lavras, Lavras 37200-900, MG, Brazil
Rafael Borges da Silva Valadares: Instituto Tecnológico Vale, Rua Boaventura da Silva, 955, Belém 66055-090, PA, Brazil
Wilson da Rocha Nascimento Junior: Instituto Tecnológico Vale, Rua Boaventura da Silva, 955, Belém 66055-090, PA, Brazil
Guilherme Oliveira: Instituto Tecnológico Vale, Rua Boaventura da Silva, 955, Belém 66055-090, PA, Brazil
Pedro Walfir Martins e Souza Filho: Instituto Tecnológico Vale, Rua Boaventura da Silva, 955, Belém 66055-090, PA, Brazil
Silvio Junio Ramos: Instituto Tecnológico Vale, Rua Boaventura da Silva, 955, Belém 66055-090, PA, Brazil

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 2, 1-16

Abstract: Rehabilitation is the key factor for improving soil quality and soil carbon stock after mining operations. Monitoring is necessary to evaluate the progress of rehabilitation and its success, but the use of repeated field surveys is costly and time-consuming at a large scale. This study aimed to monitor the environmental/soil rehabilitation process of an Amazonian sandstone mine by applying spectral indices for predicting soil organic carbon (SOC) stock and comparing them to soil quality index. The studied area has different chronological rehabilitation stages: initial, intermediate, and advanced with 2, 10, and 12 years of onset rehabilitation activities, respectively. Non-rehabilitated (NR) and two native forest areas (RA) were used as controls. Soil samples were analyzed for physical, chemical, and biological attributes. After determination of Normalized Difference Vegetation Index and Bare Soil Index, simple regression analysis comparing these indices with SOC stock showed a good fit (R 2 = 0.82). Rehabilitated areas presented higher soil quality index (~1.50-fold) and SOC stock (~10.6-fold) than NR; however, they did not differ of RA. The use of spectral indices was effective for monitoring the soil quality in this study, with a positive correlation between the predicted SOC stock and the calculated soil quality index.

Keywords: digital map; reclaimed mine soil; NDVI; BSI; topsoil (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 (2)

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