Ecological restoration plan for abandoned underground coal mine site in Eastern China

Abstract

Eastern China has a long history of coal mining and a large number of coal mine sites have been abandoned in this region leaving a legacy of mining-related land subsidence, coal waste piles and brownfield sites. Furthermore, as a result of the historical planning approach in the region, many cities were built around coal mines. Therefore, the ecological restoration of abandoned mine land has become vital to the sustainable development in these cities. This paper uses the Datong coal mine site in Huainan as a case study to develop a detailed ecological restoration plan and functional division for an abandoned underground coal mine land by considering the local conditions and mining history, site assessment and integrated monitoring tools.

Keywords:

• subsidence
• abandoned mined land
• reclamation of land
• revegetation

Acknowledgement

The research was supported by the non-profit industry research and special funds provided by the Ministry of Land and Resources in China, approval No. 200911015-03. Special thanks to the research and support provided by Huainan Mining Industry (Group) Co., Ltd and the Ecological and Environmental Development Co., Ltd. The detailed planning and cartographic research done by the China Research Centre of Landscape Architectural Design and Planning is highly appreciated.

Additional information

Funding

The research was supported by the non-profit industry research and special funds provided by the Ministry of Land and Resources in China, approval No. 200911015-03.