Mining rehabilitation – Using geomorphology to engineer ecologically sustainable landscapes for highly disturbed lands

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dc.contributor.authorHancock, G.R.
dc.contributor.authorMartín Duque, José Francisco
dc.contributor.authorWillgoose, G.R.
dc.date.accessioned2023-06-16T15:20:33Z
dc.date.available2023-06-16T15:20:33Z
dc.date.issued2020-08-01
dc.description.abstractMining is essential to the human economy and has been conducted for millennia. In the past ~60 years, the scale of disturbance created by mining has grown larger in response to economic demands and technology capacity. However the scale of disturbance from mining is dwarfed by that of urban expansion and agriculture. Nevertheless, it is well recognised that mine sites have radically disturbed abiotic and biotic system components that, post-mining need to restore new land uses and ecosystem goods and services. In many cases, such aims demand a geomorphic integration with the surrounding undisturbed landscape. Erosional stability based on geomorphic principles is the first and most important part of the process. Without erosional stability, vegetation will be difficult to establish and maintain and soil and nutrients will be lost from the site. In this review we outline this process and methods by which a geomorphic and integrative landscape can be established. We also examine the issue of establishing a self-sustaining landscape that is similar to that of the prior undisturbed landscape. Here we argue that this is not possible in almost all situations, however the development of a new and ecologically successful, albeit different landscape is. The community needs to accept that mining, like agriculture, is essential to the modern economy and that a past landscape cannot be replaced with the same, but a new, functional and productive one can be developed. However, the ability to do this and ensure long-term ecological sustainability is questionable for many sites and considerable effort needs to be made to develop the technology to ensure that this will occur. We outline a way forward, based on geomorphic design and modelling.
dc.description.departmentDepto. de Geodinámica, Estratigrafía y Paleontología
dc.description.facultyFac. de Ciencias Geológicas
dc.description.refereedTRUE
dc.description.sponsorshipMinisterio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte
dc.description.sponsorshipComunidad de Madrid
dc.description.statuspub
dc.eprint.idhttps://eprints.ucm.es/id/eprint/61652
dc.identifier.doi10.1016/j.ecoleng.2020.105836
dc.identifier.issn0925-8574
dc.identifier.officialurlhttps://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0925857420301245
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/6416
dc.issue.number105836
dc.journal.titleEcological Engineering
dc.language.isoeng
dc.publisherElsevier
dc.relation.projectIDPRX16/00441
dc.relation.projectIDREMEDINAL TE-CM (P2018/EMT-4338)
dc.rights.accessRightsrestricted access
dc.subject.cdu551.4:622.88
dc.subject.keywordSustainable landscape design
dc.subject.keywordSoilscape
dc.subject.keywordLandscape evolution modelling
dc.subject.keywordMine rehabilitation
dc.subject.keywordSoil erosion modelling
dc.subject.ucmGeodinámica
dc.subject.unesco2507 Geofísica
dc.titleMining rehabilitation – Using geomorphology to engineer ecologically sustainable landscapes for highly disturbed lands
dc.typejournal article
dc.volume.number155
dspace.entity.typePublication
relation.isAuthorOfPublication5f95937a-47b9-498e-a16c-44228acedd90
relation.isAuthorOfPublication.latestForDiscovery5f95937a-47b9-498e-a16c-44228acedd90
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