Benefit Evaluation of Water and Soil Conservation Measures in Shendong Based on Particle Swarm Optimization and the Analytic Hierarchy Process

Rigan Mo,Yangnan Guo,Meng Wang,Yuying Bao,Guoqing Chen

doi:10.3390/w12071955

Abstract

Soil erosion is the main threat to the stability of ecological environment and the harmonious development of society in Shendong Mining Area. The main causes of this threat include the strong interference of natural characteristics and land development. Scientific soil and water conservation measures can coordinate the contradictions among coal economic development, ecological protection, and residents’ prosperity. Based on particle swarm optimization and analytic hierarchy process, the benefit evaluation system of soil and water conservation measures in Shendong Mining Area is established. The weight ratio of three kinds of benefits in Shendong coal mine collapse area is: ecological benefit > social benefit > economic benefit. The conclusion shows that the implementation of the national policy and the effect of mining area management meet the expectation. Therefore, this study provides effective reference and reasonable suggestions for soil and water conservation in Shendong Mining Area. In terms of control measures, bioengineering measures, such as increased coverage of forest and grass as well as reasonable transformation of the landscape pattern of micro landform, can improve the degree of soil erosion control, optimize the land use structure, and improve the land use rate.

Highlights

Due to climate change and water shortage, similar to the allocation of water resources in Colombia [1], the sustainable assessment of soil water system in the Netherlands [2], the utilization of water resources in Sri Lanka’s arid areas [3], and other phenomena related to soil and water, conservation deserves wide attention [4]
The conclusions are in line with the actual situation of the region, which shows that this combination of methods is suitable for comprehensive benefit evaluation
The evaluation results show that ecological benefits are the most important, followed by social and economic benefits

Summary

Introduction

Due to climate change and water shortage, similar to the allocation of water resources in Colombia [1], the sustainable assessment of soil water system in the Netherlands [2], the utilization of water resources in Sri Lanka’s arid areas [3], and other phenomena related to soil and water, conservation deserves wide attention [4]. In the mining process, the effective utilization and management of resources must be faced by decision makers. The conflict between Vietnam and Titan mining gives people a warning: decisions must be made to provide economic, environmental, and ecological conflicts [5]. By creating favorable conditions for sustainable land management based on soil and water conservation can the goal of sustainable development be realized [2]. In order to realize the sustainable utilization of soil and water resources, governments and researchers have studied the existing soil and water conservation measures from different measures, different regions, and different stakeholders’ attitudes. The benefit evaluation of soil and water conservation measures, Water 2020, 12, 1955; doi:10.3390/w12071955 www.mdpi.com/journal/water

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion