Post-mining Areas Research Articles

Carbon Footprint for Post-Mining Soils: The Dynamic of Net CO2 Fluxes and SOC Sequestration at Different Soil Remediation Stages under Reforestation

The remediation of open-cast post-mining soil remains a big challenge. Here, the post-mining soils are considered from the viewpoints of CO2 emission and carbon sequestration. We investigated the dynamic of C stock in two different post-mining areas, i.e., the limestone post-mining soil remediated with embankment (S1), and the lignite post-mining soil remediated with sewage sludge (S2). Post-mining soils under four different remediation stages were used. The study was conducted in the spring of 2021 and 2022. The aim of the study was to assess the C sequestration in sewage sludge amended and non-amended post-mining soils at differently advanced remediation techniques. We noticed an increase in or stabilization of SOC in the S1. The stabilization of SOC was observed for the soil with a higher remediation age (S1C, S1D). The remediation of the S2 resulted in the increase in SOC among the soil remediation age. For both soils, we noticed a negative CO2 emission from the soil under remediation, and the net CO2 emission rate (NCER) further decreased after one year. A positive C feedback of both remediation techniques was shown to reflect lower active carbon (POXC). We also noticed an increase in nutrient content (K, Mg), and a decrease in heavy metals content after 1 year. Such a positive relationship between the remediation of post-mining soils and C sequestration indicates a step towards climate change mitigation.

Andesite Mine Handling Strategy as an Effort to Minimize Significant Impacts of Environmental Damage in Aceh Jaya, Indonesia

The growth rate of mineral mine exploitation is increasing due to the advancement and sophistication of industrial technology equipment, causing the carrying capacity of the environment to be exceeded and becoming a threat to the sustainability of natural resources and causing environmental damage. This research studies the impact of environmental damage on andesite mining activities in Gampong Kuala Ligan, Sampoiniet District, Aceh Jaya Regency, making a good mining management strategy for good mining practice. Environmental damage impact analysis using data collection and maps, weighting and scoring as well as strength, weakness, opportunity, and threat analysis. Overlay analysis shows the mining location including the eligible and conditionally eligible mining areas. Impact forecasts at the research site include topography, landslide process, erosion rate, sources of livelihood and income levels of the population, as well as public health, are the significant impacts. In contrast, land cover vegetation and crime rates are insignificant impacts. The matrix analysis shows that the research site is in very unfavorable situation. So a strategy turn around in needed which utilizes strengths to overcome threats. In the External Strategic Factor Analysis, the total score for strengths minus weaknesses is 2.29 and the total score for opportunities minus threats is -0.33. Analysis of internal and external factors shows that environmental management strategies that need to be carried out are implementing bench system mining technology, making drainage channels, providing socialization and making regional regulations that technically regulate mineral mining management for impact control and control in limiting land clearing and carrying out reclamation post-mining area. For occupational accident, risk management theory is carried out through elimination, substitution, engineering design, administration, and personal protective equipment (PPE).

Assessment and Duration of the Surface Subsidence after the End of Mining Operations

The change in the European Union’s policy related to the energy transformation of Europe and the departure from fossil energy resources may contribute to the accelerated closure of many coal mines. Therefore, it is necessary to solve the problem of surface subsidence after the end of underground mining and the related suitability of post-mining areas for the re-use of the so-called problem of the reclamation of post-mining areas. In the case of areas suitable for re-use, it is necessary to determine the value of the final subsidence. It is also important to specify the time after which mining influences will no longer have a significant impact on the surface infrastructure and the environment. Analyses of the observed subsidence after the end of the mining operation indicate that this process may last from several months to several dozens or even several hundreds of years. It depends on the individual characteristics of the mining area, including the depth of exploitation, mining system, the behavior of the surrounding rock mass, etc. The article presents an in-depth analysis of residual subsidence and its duration using the proprietary forecasting method and the Gauss–Markov algorithm based on the example of the German Lohberg mine (Ruhr District), whose mining activity was completed in January 2006.

THE DYNAMICS OF COMMUNICATION MEDIA MANAGEMENT PROGRAM CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY MINING COMPANIES IN INDONESIA

Mining areas where there should be a prosperous society, are in fact very contradictory to the high poverty rate there. The activities of mining companies have actually caused many natural disasters, not to mention the problem of post-mining holes, which so far have also claimed many lives because many of them are still left open and not immediately reclaimed. East Kalimantan and South Sumatera are the two provinces in Indonesia that have the most natural damage due to mining activities there. Kaltim Prima Coal, and Bukit Asam Company as the largest mining company there, have actually tried to manage their post-mining areas by implementing CSR programs to improve the welfare of the community, but this seems not to have been optimal. Several demonstrations were carried out by the community both in East Kalimantan and South Sumatera to demand an increase in the quality of life. Seeing this problem, the role of communication media is needed to be able to communicate effective and effective CSR programs for the community, so that there will be good acceptance and support from the community to jointly preserve the environment. This research is a qualitative research with a case study method, where researchers will examine how the dynamics of digital communication media management carried out by Kaltim Prima Coal and Bukit Asam Company to communicate their CSR programs. The results of the research are expected to provide an overview of how effective the management of digital communication media from the implementation of the CSR program by Kaltim Prima Coal and Bukit Asam Company is so that later it can become a reference for the CSR program communication process carried out by the company.

Development and actualization of brownfields database with the use of unmanned aerial vehicles - the case of Upper Silesia, Poland

This paper presents the assumptions and the preliminary results of the project entitled “Extension of the system for management of post-mining areas in the Silesian province - OPI TPP 2.0”. The overall objective of the project is to develop and implement a new e-service in the form of an open-access information system on post-mining areas in the Silesia Voivodeship. The range of information and tools planned to be made available is dedicated to assessing the possibilities and potential for economic and social reuse of these areas. The basic and extremely important stage of the project was to identify and collect data on post-industrial sites located in the Silesia Province. The information contained in this article illustrates the activities that were carried out in the initial phase of the project in which unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) were used to identify and acquire information on brownfields (including post-mining sites) entered into the developed common database. The article assesses the possibility of using drones in an enterprise of such a large scale and also points out the advantages of using this method. The article describes the methodology and scope of work related to the acquisition of data that can be collected using unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) covering surface infrastructure and land use of brownfields, allowing for the identification of negative phenomena on their site as well as monitoring of naturally occurring processes. Based on fieldworks experience and the results of numerous analyses carried out for different types of brownfields (e.g. post-mining areas, former transport bases, settling ponds, etc.), paper presents the advantages and benefits of drones (UAN) over other data sources used to monitor changes in an area. The article is based on the results of an inventory of over 600 brownfields located in Upper Silesia region (Silesia Voivodeship, Poland).

Acidification potential of geological materials in a coal mining area in southern Brazil

Acid mine drainage (AMD) is considered the major environmental hazard in coal mined areas. Characterizing the acidification potential of materials from representative geological drilling columns in coal pre-mined areas allows predicting the quality of a future constructed minesoil in post-mining areas. In this sense, acidification potential and neutralization potential quantifications enable selecting materials of the geological column that could be used to naturally neutralize acidifying materials and quantify alkaline materials for acidity correction. Therefore, this study aimed to estimate the probable composition of the constructed soil and its predisposition to cause acid mine drainage, and also estimating their potential to increase acidity in the soils and surface and subsurface waters of post-mining areas. The study was conducted in a coal mining area located in Southern Brazil. Geological material sampling included soil and rocks from six drill holes from the geological column representative of future coal mining areas. The mineralogical analysis was conducted using X-ray diffraction for the complete sample in powder form. The basic materials characterization was carried with chemical analyses: pH of water; pH of CaCl2; exchangeable cations; potential acidity. Results indicate the acidification general tendency in future constructed soils, and that control measures to prevent acid mine drainage generation must be adopted. In this regard, the use of BL and Coal (S2) seams is recommended, since they present an extremely high acidification potential. Furthermore, the controlled placement of sandstone layer with high potential acidity, and its treatment with carbonate materials addition is also recommended. Data regarding soil layers with high sum and base saturation, and the presence of smectite, typical of a Mollisol in F530 drill, reveal to environmental recovery teams the necessity of adapting to another soil condition. This condition must be chemically more fertile, but also physically harder to deal with than the Ultisol normally found in the current mining area.

Molecular Mechanisms Underlying Mimosa acutistipula Success in Amazonian Rehabilitating Minelands.

Mimosa acutistipula is endemic to Brazil and grows in ferruginous outcrops (canga) in Serra dos Carajás, eastern Amazon, where one of the largest iron ore deposits in the world is located. Plants that develop in these ecosystems are subject to severe environmental conditions and must have adaptive mechanisms to grow and thrive in cangas. Mimosa acutistipula is a native species used to restore biodiversity in post-mining areas in canga. Understanding the molecular mechanisms involved in the adaptation of M. acutistipula in canga is essential to deduce the ability of native species to adapt to possible stressors in rehabilitating minelands over time. In this study, the root proteomic profiles of M. acutistipula grown in a native canga ecosystem and rehabilitating minelands were compared to identify essential proteins involved in the adaptation of this species in its native environment and that should enable its establishment in rehabilitating minelands. The results showed differentially abundant proteins, where 436 proteins with significant values (p < 0.05) and fold change ≥ 2 were more abundant in canga and 145 in roots from the rehabilitating minelands. Among them, a representative amount and diversity of proteins were related to responses to water deficit, heat, and responses to metal ions. Other identified proteins are involved in biocontrol activity against phytopathogens and symbiosis. This research provides insights into proteins involved in M. acutistipula responses to environmental stimuli, suggesting critical mechanisms to support the establishment of native canga plants in rehabilitating minelands over time.

The dynamics of soil carbon in revegetated post-coal mining sites: A case study in Berau, East Kalimantan, Indonesia

Abstract. Hartati W, Sudarmadji T. 2022. The dynamics of soil carbon in revegetated post-coal mining sites: A case study in Berau, East Kalimantan, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 23: xxxx. Open pit mining practices cause the loss of vegetation cover as well as soil degradation. Post-mining land reclamation and revegetation are therefore enforced to recover the vegetation and soil quality. While several studies have revealed vegetation succession following post-mining revegetation, limited studies have focused on the carbon dynamics of the soil. This study aimed to investigate the dynamics of soil carbon stock due to mining operations and how it changed following revegetation. The research was carried out in the concession area of a coal mining company in Berau, East Kalimantan, which was divided into three sites: Sambarata Mining Operation (SMO) Site, Binungan Mining Operation (BMO) Site, and Lati Mining Operation (LMO) Site. At each site, eight research measurement plots (RMP) were established representing land with varying vegetational conditions, namely original land and post-mined lands with varying revegetation stages from open land to 12-year-old vegetation. The percentage of C content was calculated from 288 disturbed soil samples, while bulk density was analyzed from 144 whole soil samples using the Walkey &amp; Black and gravimetric methods. We found that the C stock at the initial state after the mining operation was very low. Coal mining activities caused a loss of C in soil with an average value of 21.29%, or equal to 5.65 tons/ha. The biggest loss occurred at the SMO site (44.97%, or 13.04 tons/ha), while the smallest loss was found at the LMO site (2.24%, or 0.40 tons/ha). The carbon stock improved after revegetation, particularly in the SMO and LMO sites, and the rate of carbon stock enhancement in the soil differed across sites. The results also showed that soil carbon in the post-mining area of 10-30 cm was greater than that of the 0-10 cm layer. Along with the increasing age of plants, the vertical distribution of C stock shifted from the lower layer to the upper layer.

Analysis of Potential Objects for Ecotourism Development Based on Landscape Character in the Gunung Pongkor Post-Mining Area Through Expert Judgement

The Gunung Pongkor post-mining area has several objects that have the potential as ecotourism objects such as natural phenomena, flora and fauna, as well as tailings and mine buildings that will be abandoned and have the potential as heritage buildings. The study aims to identify and analysis the potential of these objects for ecotourism development based on landscape character through expert judgement. This study used a qualitative descriptive method through assessment surveys and interviews. The stages in this research are: 1) identification of ecotourism objects and 2) analysis of potential ecotourism objects. The uniqueness of potential natural phenomena is the most important variable compared to its beauty and scarcity. The existence of areas where there are almost extinct, vulnerable, and critical flora and fauna is the most important assessment variable and must be protected. The scarcity of heritage buildings is the most important variable compared to their uniqueness and beauty. The potential variable is compared to the value of the weight of its importance as something that must be a concern for protecting ecotourism objects and developing ecotourism destination area. The protection carried out is to protect the character of the landscape where the unique natural phenomena are located, protect the habitat and types of flora and fauna from extinction and protect the scarcity of heritage buildings from destruction.

A Rock Engineering System Based Abandoned Mine Instability Assessment Index with Case Studies for Waihi Gold Mine

Mining as one of the fundamental elements of the economy has left tens of thousands of mines abandoned. With increased urbanisation and population growth, industrial or residential sites become prone to post-mining geotechnical hazards such as subsidence from abandoned mining sites. Instabilities of abandoned workings may, also, interfere with active mining, imposing risks and considerable delays in the operations. Proper knowledge of these geotechnical hazards and the mechanisms of instabilities are critical for the classification and prioritisation of the sites for rehabilitation or repurposing of abandoned mining sites.The long-term stability analysis of abandoned mine workings is a complex task for engineering geologists and rock engineers. Numerous factors have been identified here as affecting the stability of underground mining excavations including depth, age, shape, and geometry of the mining excavations, underground water, in-situ stress state in the area, geotechnical characteristics, discontinuities, seismic loading and most importantly weathering and deterioration of the rock masses.To provide an efficient approach for assessing the complex phenomena of geotechnical hazards associated with shallow abandoned underground stopes in hard rock environments, with interconnected parameters, this study proposes a systematic approach by adopting and modifying the Rock Engineering System, RES, (Hudson 1992b). An Interaction Matrix is developed, the critical factors and dominant modes of instabilities are identified, and the hazard potentials are determined. An empirical index known as the Abandoned Mine Instability Index, AMII, is proposed to enable a quick and preliminary assessment of geotechnical instability and subsidence hazards in post-mining areas. This systematic approach was tested against one case history involving multiple crown pillar collapses and sinkhole subsidence incidents related to historic underground stope mining followed by a modern adjacent open pit at the Waihi mine in New Zealand. Information from relevant literature was used to assess the post-mining geotechnical hazards. The outcomes of the study indicate that the methodology can be successfully applied to differentiate between stable and unstable areas at the same mine. Future comparisons of mines in different regions are required to fully confirm the calibration of the AMII.

Enhancing network complexity and function of soil bacteria by thiourea-modified biochar under cadmium stress in post-mining area.

Cadmium (Cd) pollution cause severe stress to soil microorganisms and biochar utilized for its ability to immobilize Cd in the soil effectively. However, the influence of biochar on the structure and function of the bacterial network under Cd stress is unclear. This research reports a pot experiment conducted to investigate the impact of 2.0% Italian poplar bark biochar (PB), 2.0% thiourea-modified biochar (TP), and control treatment (CK) on the complexity, stability and functional properties of the bacterial community under Cd stress. The results showed that: (1) Biochar increased the diversity of soil bacterial consortia under Cd stress (p<0.05), and the diversity index demonstrated as order of CK<PB<TP; (2) Compared with CK network, the nodes number of PB and TP treatments networks were much higher, while the modularity and transitivity increased by 0.04% and 37.6%, 2.45% and 1.12%, respectively. The biochar amendment increased the stability and complexity of the network; (3) PICRUSt2 prediction results show that Xenobiotics biodegradation and metabolism membrane transport of TP treatment increased 62.52% and 53.62% compared with CK, respectively, which could be related to the decrease in Cd content according to principal component analysis. (4) The reduction of leaching Cd content caused network complexity and bacterial function changes by biochar amendment. TP amendment enhanced the complexity and stability of soil bacterial community under Cd stress, which will provide a scientific basis for in situ remediations of Cd-contaminated soils.

Phytoremediation of post-mining disturbed land

Sustainable land application in post-mining areas is an essential ecological issue, connected with disturbed areas, pollution of heavy metals, etc. The current research studies opportunities for phytoremediation of lands disturbed by copper mining. Environmental state and soil conditions are examined. Analyses show that soils are weakly acidic, with a low concentration of total nitrogen, a very high concentration of K2O and P2O5, and arsenic above permissible values. The research determines phytostabilisation as a more reliable method for phytoremediation of disturbed lands in this case. The appropriate species for phytostabilisation have been studied. Based on the analysis of data, climate, and soil conditions, it is determined that tree species of four genera show the best ability for phytoremediation in this type of terrain: Populus, Betula, Acer, Salix. Afforestation schemes and possible methods for biomass treatment are proposed.

Energy evolution and water immersion-induced weakening in sandstone roof of coal mines

The instability of underground spaces in abandoned coal mines with water-immersed rocks is one of the main hazards hindering the geothermal energy use and ecological restoration of post-mining areas. This study conducted graded cyclic loading–unloading tests of five groups of sandstone samples with different water contents. The evolution of input, elastic, dissipated, damping, and plastic energies were explored, considering the damping effect. The normalized plastic energy serves to characterize the damage evolution of sandstone samples, whose failure characteristics were analyzed from both the macroscopic and microscopic perspectives. X-ray diffraction technique and scanning electron microscopy were used to reveal the softening mechanism of sandstone. The results show that under graded cyclic loading, input energy, elastic energy, and dissipated energy all increase gradually, and the fraction of elastic energy increases gradually at first and then tends to stabilize. The variation in the fraction of dissipated energy is opposite to that of elastic energy. In each cycle, the input energy is stored primarily in the form of elastic energy, whereas the dissipated energy is used primarily to overcome the damping of sandstone. When the normalized number of cycles approached unity, the plastic energy fraction sharply increases, while that of the dampening energy drops abruptly. With increasing water content, the effect of pore water on the lubrication, the water wedge, and dissolution of mineral particles becomes more obvious, reducing the elastic-storage limit of sandstone, meanwhile the sandstone damage factor increases significantly under the same cycle and the failure mode changes from brittle to ductile.

Ecology, genetics and distribution of Punctoribates zachvatkini, an oribatid mite so far overlooked in Germany

Punctoribates is one of few genera in Poronota (Acari: Oribatida) containing species with porose areas and species with saccules, the two types of the octotaxic system. These porose organs are the main difference between two morphologically similar species, P. punctum with porose areas and P. zachvatkini with saccules. As the octotaxic system can vary within species, species separation solely based on this trait might be insufficient. To assess the species status of P. zachvatkini, we investigated additional differences from P. punctum by comparing habitat preferences of the two species regarding nature reserves and agricultural landscapes during a field study in the German Eifel region, and by examining Punctoribates material from four large German natural history museums. We also performed scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and a genetic analysis using the D3 marker of the nuclear 28S rDNA gene. In the field study, P. zachvatkini had higher densities in the nature reserves and P. punctum in the agricultural landscapes. Evaluation of the museum material revealed P. punctum occurred more regularly in disturbed sites such as urban, agricultural and post-mining areas compared to P. zachvatkini. Pairwise distances of the 28S D3 genetic marker as well as an additional base pair in P. zachvatkini further support the separation of the two species, and SEM investigations revealed new details regarding the punctulation of P. zachvatkini. The review of the museum material showed that P. zachvatkini already occurred in Germany in 1967 and has a wider distribution than previously known.

Taxonomic and functional diversity of bird communities in mining areas undergoing passive and active restoration in eastern Amazon

The advance of land-use change processes in the Amazon rainforest has modified its natural landscape, resulting in losses of biodiversity and ecological functions. Under this scenario, some reforestation methods have been proposed and tested in degraded areas aiming to reverse environmental damage. We assess the efficiency of three reforestation methods by investigating the taxonomic and functional diversity of birds in a post-mining landscape located in the eastern Brazilian Amazon. We counted birds in 56 sites located in both forest and areas under the process of ecological restoration through natural regeneration, planting seedlings, and nucleation. Species composition and richness differed significantly between forests and areas under recovery. Nucleation showed distinct species composition from planting seedlings or natural regeneration areas, which can be explained by the difference in environmental structure in the areas recovering by this method. Although age did not influence species richness, we observed different species composition between old and young areas that received planting of seedlings. In general, we found no differences in functional diversity and functional richness between the methods of recovery. We conclude that the three recovery strategies evaluated herein showed a similar efficiency. However, it is necessary to consider that perhaps eight years is a short period to observe significant differences in the structure of the areas recovered by the different methods and, consequently, the structure of bird communities. Also, the diversity patterns of the current bird communities located in the post-mining areas were far from those found in forest areas, indicating the need for maintaining long-term recovery programs.

THE STUDY OF ANTHROPOGENIC DISTURBANCE ON GEOPEDOGENETIC PROCESS AT THE LOWER SLOPE OF MT. UNGARAN, INDONESIA

Volcanic rocks mining activity will undoubtedly remove vegetation cover and cause the physical environment changes. Revegetation effort as part of land rehabilitation program then often found many obstacles because it was mostly conducted without adequate knowledge of detailed morphology and soil characteristics at the post-mining area. This study investigates the geopedogenetic changes, including land surface morphology, recent geomorphic processes, and soil properties caused by andesite rocks exploitation at the northern flank of Mt. Ungaran, Central Java Province of Indonesia. A digital terrain model was firstly generated from small format aerial photography acquired by an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to identify the surface morphology changes due to the mining. Soil observation on field and laboratory test were conducted from samples at the affected and unaffected mining areas in order to analyse the changes on pysiochemical properties. This research exhibits that the mining activities have altered a single convex hill into a complex land surface morphology consisting of sloping zone, basins and flat area. Human disturbance on pedogenetic process at the mining area are in the form of parent material alteration that make them return to the early stage of soil development and top soil reduction that modify its genetic horizons. In addition, the changes on surface morphology and the absence of vegetation cover right after the mining ends also triggered new geomorphic processes in the form of incision and deposition on slopes and basin respectively. The finer deposit layers then become a new parent material at the basin zone. Soil laboratory data demonstrate that the affected soils tend to have a high level of base saturation, but lower C-organic and N-total levels, which result in a less favourable environment for supporting vegetation growth. A precise surface morphology design, extra soil surface protection and organic matter enhancement could be wise recommendations for land managers to control soil incision and support vegetation growth at the andesite post-mining area.

Environment Niche Perspective on Brown Canyon Post-Mining Area in Semarang City

Post-mining activities are essential to prevent the negative impacts based on the restoration design. Mining issues encourage residents to establish alternative post-mining tourism management slowly. The idea was proposed to respond to the socio-ecological crisis around the left area. This study aims to 1) analyze the socio-ecological crises in the mining area and 2) analyze the post-mining utilization strategies for Brown Canyon as a tourism destination. This research was qualitative. Data collection was done through observation, interviews, and documentation. Data validity was tested by using triangulation. The analytical method was Miles and Huberman's model by conducting the analysis process. The primary components are data collection, reduction, presentation, and conclusion. The results were analyzed using the rational choice theory by James A. Coleman and the environment niche theory by Nugroho Trisnu Brata. The results point out that the mining’s in Rowosari Village bring both positive and negative impacts. It is positive as it provides job opportunities for people. At the same time, it is harmful as it threats the sustainability of socio-ecological life, such as loss of tree landscapes, landslides, noise pollution, and air pollution. The socio-ecological crises gave rise to the idea of carrying out post-mining activities as a strategy to build a tourism destination—a reasonable choice for the government, mine owners, and the community. Until now, the community is still planning a post-mining strategy to take advantage of environmental gaps despite various obstacles, such as illegal levies, inconsistencies in the direction of post-mining, and ongoing illegal mining activities.

Biomonitoring of Post-Mine Environment Using Ruderal Plants

Ruderal plants that remove toxic metals by accumulating in their tissues are called accumulators. Such accumulators can be used for phytoremediation or phytomining. The use of plants for biomonitoring environmental pollution by a non-invasive monitoring method correlates the effects of anthropogenic factors and living organisms. The advantage is the early detection of changes in the environment, thanks to the rapid response of bioindicators, responding to changes in the habitat, for example, by creating deformations. At present, biomonitoring is one of the indispensable parts of nature and environmental protection. The following species were selected for research - Aster amellus L., Rosa canina L. and Paraleucobryum longifolium; the area of ​​interest was the post-mining area. The aim of the study was to verify the hyperaccumulation activity of ruderal plants on the thermally active dump pile Ema, in the district of Ostrava-Karviná, Czech Republic. The plant samples were taken in the places with the thermal activity and were compared as for the capacity of bioaccumulation of hazardous metals – Co, Mo, Cd, Pb, Cr, As, Ba, Sr in the plant tissues from different parts of the plants (root, stem, leaf, fruit). The results were compared with the collection of metals at sampling points. The highest ability to bioaccumulate was demonstrated by plants from the Bryophyta division. Keywords: Bioavailability; Ema dump pile; Hyperaccumulation; Plants; Toxic metals.

Geological and economic risk assessment for territories of hazardous geological and technogenic processes (exemplified by Solotvyno township)

Purpose. Assessing the risks of economic and social losses caused by the activization of hazardous natural geological and technogenic processes to establish the hazards of living in post-mining areas, with a view to developing strategies for their amelioration. Methodology. Field observations were carried out to determine the state of the geological environment of the territory and individual engineering objects. The assessment of the territory stability was done relying on the mechanical and mathematical basics of engineering geology in conjunction with the approaches of system analysis and the theory of engineering and geological similarity. Methods of probability theory and mathematical statistics were used for the expert assessment and risk analysis. Cartographic materials were compiled using GIS and digital simulation methods implemented on the example of Solotvyno township. As the source material, the GIS database (geological, engineering-geological, hydrogeological, and so on), compiled at the Institute of Geological Sciences of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine for the territory of Solotvyno, was used alongside with the works assessing the occurrence of natural as well as man-induced processes. Findings. It has been established that the most dangerous geological and technogenic hazards on the territory examined are karst-suffusion processes, whose probability in the central part of the territory is 1. At the object level, the economic risk (4.35 10-3 thousand UAH/m2 year) has been estimated, which shows the need for protective engineering measures due to an individual risk (5.86 10-4 people/person year). This is a significant value as compared with the average one for the territory of Ukraine. Integrated and differentiated economic risks have been calculated for the territory of Solotvyno, with the distribution of risks visualized on schematic maps. Originality. The scheme for assessing the risk of hazardous geological and technogenic processes on the post-mining territory has been developed. The combined use of differentiated and integrated assessments of economic risks at the locality and object levels would optimize managerial decisions on protection against geological hazards and would permit the development of a high-quality system for settlement monitoring. Practical value. The implementation of the S&amp;T results obtained will enhance the efficiency of the monitoring and engineering protection systems developed for the territories with the possible occurrence of major emergencies.

A Circular Economy Approach to Restoring Soil Substrate Ameliorated by Sewage Sludge with Amendments.

This study examined the use of an artificial soil substrate in a mine waste reclamation area and its effect on plant metabolic functions. Research was conducted by determining the relationship between the plants’ biochemical features and the properties of plant growth medium derived from post-flotation coal waste, sewage sludge, crushed stone and fly ash on the surface of the mine waste disposal area. Trees and shrubs were established on the material and allowed to grow for eight years. The study determined that the applied plants and the naturally occurring Taraxacum officinale were suitable for physio-biochemical assessment, identification of derelict areas and reclamation purposes. An evaluation of a soil substrate applied to post-mining areas indicated that it was beneficial for plant growth since it activated the metabolic functions of herbaceous plants, shrubs, and trees. The study showed that soil substrate can be targeted to improve plant stress tolerance to potentially toxic elements (PTEs). These data suggest the potential for growth and slower susceptible response to Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn. It is possible that the constructed soil-substitute substrate (biosolid material) would be an effective reclamation treatment in areas where natural soil materials are polluted by PTEs. This observation may reflect a more efficient use of soil substrate released from the cycling of organic biogene pools, in accordance with the circular economy approach. In further studies related to land reclamation using sewage sludge amendments, it would be necessary to extend the research to other stress factors, such as salinity or water deficiency.