Abstract
Abstract: The objective of this work was to evaluate the soil mesofauna composition in non-mining and in mining areas under environmental recovery with native vegetation and forest planting, in a coalmine in Southern Brazil. Five treatments were evaluated: native vegetation in non-mining area; plantation of Acacia mearnsii in non-mining area; plantation of A. mearnsii in mining area; plantation of Eucalyptus dunnii in non-mining area; and plantation of E. dunnii in mining area. Four soil samples per treatment were collected monthly, during one year. The organisms were extracted using a Berlese funnel with 50-W incandescent light. A total of 23,911 organisms were collected from the soil mesofauna, which were identified and distributed into 13 taxonomic groups. The abundance of specimens was similar between treatments. The greatest diversity of taxonomic groups was found under A. mearnsii plantation, in the mining area, and under E. dunnii plantations in non-mining and mining areas, all with 13 groups. Eucalyptus dunnii and A. mearnsii help to mitigate the impact of coal mining on the diversity of the soil mesofauna taxonomic groups, since the composition of mesoarthropods is similar to that of areas that have not been directly affected by mining.
Highlights
The use of natural resources generates environmental impacts of greater or lesser intensity
The study was conducted at the Candiota mine, a coal mining area belonging to Companhia Riograndense de Mineração (CRM) (31°33'20.15"S, 53°42'27.11"W, at an altitude of 170 m), located in the municipality of Candiota, in the southern region of the state of Rio Grande do Sul
A total of 23,911 specimens of arthropods were registered in the soil mesofauna, which were distributed in 13 taxonomic groups, belonging to six classes: Arachnida, Chilopoda, Insecta, Clitellata, Entognatha, and Malacostraca
Summary
The use of natural resources generates environmental impacts of greater or lesser intensity. For example, coal extraction causes environmental impacts as the exploration of natural areas changes the landscape by revolving the soil, which leads to accumulation of large volumes of waste (Silva, 2007). In Brazil, the state of Rio Grande do Sul accounts for 89.25% of coal reserves, followed by Santa Catarina, with 10.41%; Paraná, with 0.32%; and São Paulo, with 0.02%. Mining at the Candiota mine is carried out in the open-pit system and the layers that overlap the coal bank are removed, together with plant coverage, which, results in large volumes of waste. The waste from mining is commonly composed of sub-surface soil horizons that were removed from the pit and rock formations (argillites or siltites), which overlap coal layers (Reis et al, 2014)
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