Impact of coal mining on land use changes, deforestation, biomass, and C losses in Central India: Implications for offsetting CO2 emissions

Abstract

AbstractDespite the continuous growth in renewable sources of energy, coal remains the primary source of energy security in developing countries and accounted for 1.1 Gt of CO2 annually. The present study was conducted to examine the dynamic land cover changes, deforestation, and carbon (C) emissions in the mined landscape of Central India. Geospatial techniques coupled with field measurements were conjunctively employed for quantifying land use and vegetation changes from the period of 2001 to 2020. The unchecked mining (6.4–30 km2) along with the rapid expansion of agriculture (586.7–642.5 km2) were identified as major drivers of deforestation, which resulted in the net loss of 115.3 km2 area under intact sal (Shorea robusta) dominated forest. The mining and associated activities increased the fragmentation of intact forest that had not only decreased density, basal area, and diversity of vegetation but also a huge loss of biomass of ~2.5 Tg that contributed to a net loss of 1.08 Tg C (~3.98 Tg of CO2) in the past 20 years. The study explored the use of land management options and confirmed that C offset ensued from land use changes without hampering coal production for the next two decades. The scenarios will provide valuable information to the policymakers for devising sustainable coal mining by underpinning the ecological compensation for deforestation while promoting cleaner production technologies through decarbonization to counteract emissions, which could help in achieving ambitious goals set by India for planned C reduction targets as Intended Nationally Determined Commitments under the Paris Agreement (2015).