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| Analysis of limiting factors for ecological restorationin high-altitude arid open-pit mining areas |
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Received:November 04, 2020
Revised:December 06, 2024
Accepted:December 09, 2024
Published Online:April 30, 2026
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| DOI：10.3969/j.issn.1005-7854.2026.01.005 |
| KeyWord:cold and arid area;open-pit coal mine;vegetation greenness;ecological restoration;limiting factors |
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| 1.CHN Energy Group Xinjiang Energy Chemical Co. Ltd., Urumqi 830027, China;2.School of Chemical Engineering, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830046, China;3.School of Chemical & Environmental Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology-Beijing, Beijing 100083, China |
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| Abstract: |
| Open-pit coal mining often triggers a series of ecological and environmental issues. Taking the Heishan open-pit coal mine, a typical high-altitude cold-arid mining area in Xinjiang, as an example, this paper provides a detailed analysis of the impact of open-pit coal mining on vegetation ecology and explores the limiting factors for ecological restoration, aiming to provide a foundation and basis for artificial ecological recovery. By comprehensively utilizing methods such as data collection, laboratory testing, and remote sensing imagery, the evolution characteristics of vegetation greenness in the mining area were analyzed, and corresponding limiting factors for ecological restoration were proposed. The results show that the vegetation coverage in the Heishan mining area exhibited a significant overall increasing trend. However, with the expansion of the open-pit mining area and dump sites, the bare land area increased from 9.6 km2 before mining to 14.65 km2 at present, primarily due to the transformation of low vegetation coverage areas into bare soil zones, which further intensified the challenges for vegetation restoration. The Heishan open-pit mine is characterized by high altitude, low precipitation, strong wind, and low temperature, with environmental conditions markedly inferior to those of open-pit mines in eastern grassland regions and areas such as Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Inner Mongolia. The surface soil of the dump sites exhibited low to extremely low levels of alkali-hydrolyzable nitrogen, total phosphorus, available phosphorus, organic matter, and other nutrients, with a pH value ranging from 8.77 to 8.8, indicating alkalinity unfavorable for vegetation growth and restoration. Mine water inflow generally showed higher volumes in summer and lower volumes in winter, with an annual average inflow of 680 000 m3. At an annual production capacity of 10 million tons, there remains a water shortage of 540 600 m3 to meet production, domestic, and ecological water demands. Through a comprehensive analysis of the ecological and environmental conditions of open-pit coal mines in high-altitude cold-arid regions, this study reveals key factors affecting vegetation restoration, providing a scientific basis for the ecological restoration of the Heishan open-pit coal mine and offering references for ecological rehabilitation in other similar mining areas. |
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