Abstract
The aim of this study is to provide a design tool to forecast the effects that extraction methods and reclamation plans will generate on the land surrounding quarry sites. The method is based on a graphical approach and it consists of three consecutive phases. The first phase focuses on the quarry plant and aims to quantify the extent of the quarry area exposed to a potential observer. Various possible exploitation methods are compared by plotting several layouts which are compatible with the characteristics of the mineral deposit. The extent of the resulting quarried area is then assessed for each layout. The second phase allows the selected solutions to be compared and analysed in relation to the topographic characteristics of the surroundings. Through the adoption of a parameter which quantifies the zone of visual influence of the quarry, the visual impact each exploitation method would have on the surrounding landscape throughout the lifetime of the quarry may be assessed quantitatively. The final phase combines the findings of the previous phases, thus taking into account both the extent of exposed quarried area and the features of the surrounding landscape so as to define input data in order to select and design the least intrusive layout. The procedure is tested on two case studies and, after comparing the two sets of results, some general principles are proposed and discussed which may be applied in relation to activities of both quarrying and reclamation.
Highlights
Due to increasing environmental awareness, nowadays both the public sphere and state administrators pay particular attention to the impact any industrial site has on its surrounding environment
The Exposed Quarry Area (EQA) generated by the single bench method grows faster than that with vertical slices and the altered surface of the former is more visible from the initial stage of the quarry whereas the latter method allows a more gradual increase in visual impact (Table 1 and 2)
This study identifies some parameters to quantitatively assess the visual impact of quarrying
Summary
Due to increasing environmental awareness, nowadays both the public sphere and state administrators pay particular attention to the impact any industrial site has on its surrounding environment. Whilst the environmental impact of physical and chemical agents may be assessed objectively using on-site measurements, the visual impact of extractive activities is linked to observers’ perceptions and is more subjective. The typical pollutant agents produced by a quarry may be controlled through corrective procedures whose effects are immediately appreciable, whereas any changes to the landscape as a result of quarrying are much more difficult to rectify and are generally long-lasting. This seems to suggest that in order to minimize the visual impact of a quarry, a preventative approach would be required during the design stage. The assessment of the physical alteration of a site assumes a certain
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