Spatiotemporal dynamics of carbon storage in terrestrial ecosystem vegetation in the Xuzhou coal mining area, China

Abstract

Coal mining affects landscapes and ecosystems, so studying changes in carbon storage in the vegetation of mining areas are important for documenting the effects of mining activities on ecosystem sustainability. This study analysed changes in carbon storage with time in the Xuzhou Mining Area of China using remote sensing data. The effects of natural factors and mining activities on carbon storage in vegetation in the mining area were analysed. The results show that mining caused a rapid reduction of the amount of carbon stored in vegetation, with carbon storage and carbon density declining by 16,049.45 t and 69.87 g m−2, respectively, in the studied area between 1987 and 2008. These changes probably reflect the concurrent increase in coal production and its effects on the environment. The change in carbon storage was more severe in the area directly damaged by mining than in peripheral areas. Variation in total vegetation carbon storage in the studied area was caused mainly by alterations in the carbon density values and areas of cultivated land and forested land.