Assessment of Land Reclamation Benefits in Mining Areas Using Fuzzy Comprehensive Evaluation

Xueyi Yu,Dongdong Zhang,Chi Mu

doi:10.3390/su12052015

Abstract

Land reclamation plays a vital role in the ecological improvement and economic development of mining regions. This study aims to conduct a preliminary discussion on the evaluation content, evaluation methods, and evaluation indicators of land reclamation benefits in mining areas. Using fuzzy comprehensive evaluation (FCE) method, land reclamation was assessed. After compiling a model of the land reclamation influencing factors, an evaluation index of land reclamation benefit in the mining area was constructed using the land reclamation monitoring data for the northern part of the mining area over the last decade. In addition, an expert scoring method and a traditional evaluation model were used to estimate the comprehensive benefits of land reclamation at Hanjiawan coal mine in Shendong mining area. Land reclamation markedly improved the land type within the mining region and decreased the amount of damaged land, including subsided and occupied land. Moreover, land reclamation improved the available land area such as agricultural and construction land. The proposed model obtained an overall 63% increase in the land reclamation area. Different degrees of ecological, economic, and social benefits of Hanjiawan coal mine were observed; however, the ecological benefits were the most significant, with a growth rate of 56%. Based on the evaluation criteria, all benefits of the mining area after reclamation were good. Over time, land reclamation will offer greater comprehensive benefits to the mining area. Furthermore, this method can be used for precise evaluation of comprehensive benefits after land reclamation, and the assessment results will provide a reference basis for sustainable development of the mining area.

Highlights

Shendong mining area is encountering a series of environmental problems because of the large-scale exploitation of coal resources
Land reclamation in Shendong mining area plays an important role in the economic development of this region
Using the monitoring data of land reclamation in the mining area, combined with the status quo of land reclamation, a land reclamation evaluation system was established for Hanjiawan coal mine in Shendong mining area, and the following conclusions were obtained: By implementing land reclamation, the land reclamation area in Shendong mining area increased by 63%, and the land types markedly improved

Summary

Introduction

Shendong mining area is encountering a series of environmental problems because of the large-scale exploitation of coal resources Environmental issues such as surface movement and deformation caused by goaf collapse have altered the original stratum structure and accounted for serious geological disasters, such as landslides and debris flow in some mining areas. Excessive mining destroys the original natural environment and vegetation, as well as gradually reduces the land available for agriculture, which adversely affects crop yields. All these developments negatively affect farmers’ sources of income, thereby decreasing the economic sustainability of the mining area [4,5]. Yin [17] adopted the hybrid VIKOR method to develop an evaluation model of land reclamation in an open-pit mine to evade the impact of subjective and objective factors

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion