Evaluation of Remote Sensing Ecological Index Based on Soil and Water Conservation on the Effectiveness of Management of Abandoned Mine Landscaping Transformation

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Aug 8;19(15):9750. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19159750.

Abstract

Abandoned mines are typical areas of soil erosion. Landscape transformation of abandoned mines is an important means to balance the dual objectives of regional ecological restoration and industrial heritage protection, but the secondary development and construction process of mining relics require long-term monitoring with objective scientific indicators and effective assessment of their management effectiveness. This paper takes Tongluo Mountain Mining Park in Chongqing as an example and uses a remote sensing ecological index (RSEI) based on Landsat-8 image data to assess the spatial and temporal differences in the dynamic changes in the ecological and environmental quality of tertiary relic reserves with different degrees of development and protection in the park. Results showed that: ① The effect of vegetation cover, which can significantly improve soil and water conservation capacity. ② The RSEI is applicable to the evaluation of the effectiveness of ecological management of mines with a large amount of bare soil areas. ③ The mean value of the RSEI in the region as a whole increased by 0.090, and the mean values of the RSEI in the primary, secondary and tertiary relic reserves increased by 0.121, 0.112 and 0.006, respectively. ④ The increase in the RSEI in the study area is mainly related to the significant decrease in the dryness index (NDBSI) and the increase in the humidity index (WET). The remote sensing ecological index can objectively reflect the difference in the spatial and temporal dynamics of the ecological environment in tertiary relic protection, and this study provides a theoretical reference for the ecological assessment of secondary development-based management under difficult site conditions.

Keywords: ecological restoration assessment; land ecology; mine management; remote sensing ecological index; soil and water conservation.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • China
  • Conservation of Water Resources*
  • Ecosystem
  • Environmental Monitoring / methods
  • Remote Sensing Technology*
  • Soil

Substances

  • Soil

Grants and funding

This research was funded by The Fundamental Humanities and Social Sciences Research Funds for Ministry of Education of People’s Republic of China (No. 18YJC760146).