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Sustainable Solutions for Land Reclamation and Post-mining Land Uses

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Resources and Sustainable Utilization".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 10 December 2024 | Viewed by 917

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Mineral Resources Engineering Department, University of Western Macedonia, 50150 Kozani, Greece
Interests: surface mining; environmental management; environmental impacts assessment; land reclamation; circular economy; energy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Department of Mining Engineering and Closure Planning, Public Power Corporation of Greece, 10432 Athens, Greece
Interests: mine planning and design; mineral exploration; mineral economics operations research; decision making; stochastic optimization; production planning; project management; circular economy; simulation; risk analysis; sustainable development; energy; environmental impact assessment; reliability
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Division of Project Management, ASPROFOS Engineering S.A., Greece, 17675 Athens, Greece
Interests: project and operations management; project strategic planning; risk analysis; safety management; sustainability; oil and gas pipeline systems; environmental impact assessment; multi-criteria decision making; mines restoration; knowledge management; engineering failure analysis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Soil remediation and land reclamation are pivotal in addressing the multifaceted challenges of environmental degradation, social disruption, and economic decline resulting from the closure of surface mines. Remediation involves restoring soil health and functionality, while land reclamation encompasses the broader process of restoring landscapes to a productive or natural state after mining activities cease. These practices are essential for mitigating the adverse impacts of mining operations, including soil erosion, habitat destruction, and water pollution. Through restoring, rehabiliting, and repurposing mined lands, we can not only revive ecosystems but also rejuvenate local economies and communities.

Our proposed Special Issue, "Sustainable Solutions for Land Reclamation and Post-mining Land Uses", aims to foster the dissemination of innovative technologies and techniques that advance environmental stewardship in post-mining contexts. This Special Issue will serve as a platform for researchers, practitioners, and policymakers to share insights into effective strategies for environmental monitoring, pollution prevention and control, soil remediation, and sustainable land use planning. Furthermore, we seek to explore decision-making frameworks that integrate spatial and non-spatial parameters to guide the selection of appropriate land uses, considering ecological, social, and economic aspects. By promoting interdisciplinary dialogue and knowledge exchange, we aim to catalyze the development and adoption of sustainable practices in land reclamation and post-mining land management.

The proposed Special Issue aligns closely with the scope of Sustainability, as it addresses the imperative of integrating environmental, social, and economic dimensions in pursuit of a sustainable future. Land reclamation represents a crucial aspect of sustainability within the extractive industry, offering opportunities to mitigate environmental harm, restore ecosystems, and promote long-term socioeconomic resilience. This Special Issue will contribute to the journal's mission of advancing sustainability science and practice by showcasing cutting-edge research and practical innovations.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

  • Innovative soil remediation techniques for degraded post-mining landscapes;
  • Strategies for sustainable land use planning and management in mining-affected regions;
  • Environmental monitoring and assessment tools for evaluating the effectiveness of land reclamation efforts;
  • Socioeconomic impacts of post-mining land uses and community engagement strategies;
  • Policy frameworks and governance mechanisms for promoting sustainable post-mining transitions;
  • Decision-making methods for optimizing land use selection;
  • Case studies and best practices highlighting successful examples of land reclamation and restoration projects;
  • Investigation of land repurposing scenarios based on energy storage and renewable energy plants.

Through this Special Issue, we aim to facilitate knowledge exchange, stimulate collaborative research, and inspire practical action towards achieving sustainable solutions for land reclamation and post-mining land uses.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Francis F. Pavloudakis
Dr. Christos Roumpos
Dr. Philip-Mark Spanidis
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • sustainable environment and land management
  • land uses
  • eco-restoration
  • land reclamation–rehabilitation–repurposing
  • soil remediation
  • circular economy
  • sustainability in surface mines

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

22 pages, 26408 KiB  
Article
Carbon Sequestration Capacity after Ecological Restoration of Open-Pit Mines: A Case Study in Yangtze River Basin, Jurong City, Jiangsu Province
by Shenli Zhou, Xiaokai Li, Pengcheng Zhang, Gang Lu, Xiaolong Zhang, Huaqing Zhang and Faming Zhang
Sustainability 2024, 16(18), 8149; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16188149 - 18 Sep 2024
Viewed by 592
Abstract
Open-pit mining seriously damages the original vegetation community and soil layer and disturbs the carbon cycle of vegetation and soil, causing instability in the mining ecosystem and decrease in the carbon sequestration capacity of the mining area. With the deepening of environmental awareness [...] Read more.
Open-pit mining seriously damages the original vegetation community and soil layer and disturbs the carbon cycle of vegetation and soil, causing instability in the mining ecosystem and decrease in the carbon sequestration capacity of the mining area. With the deepening of environmental awareness and the influence of related policies, the ecological restoration of open-pit mines has been promoted. The mining ecosystem is distinct owing to the disperse distribution of mines and small scale of single mines. However, the carbon sequestration capability of mines after ecological restoration has not been clearly evaluated. Therefore, this study evaluated the carbon sequestration capacity of restoration mines, taking the mines of the Yangtze River Basin in Jurong City, Jiangsu Province as the research objects. Firstly, the visual effects of the vegetation and soil in their current status were determined through field investigation, the methods for sampling and data collection for the vegetation and soil were selected, and the specific laboratory tests such as the vegetation carbon content and soil organic carbon were clarified. Meanwhile, the evaluation system consisting of three aspects and nine evaluation indexes was established by using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and fuzzy comprehensive evaluation (FCE). The process of evaluation included the following: the establishment of the judgment matrix, calculation of the index weight, determination of the membership function, and establishment of the fuzzy membership matrix. Finally, the evaluation results of the restoration mines were determined with the ‘excellent, good, normal and poor’ grade classification according to the evaluation standards for each index proposed considering the data of the field investigation and laboratory tests. The results indicated that (1) the evaluation results of the mines’ carbon sequestration capacity were of excellent and good grade at a proportion of 62.5% and 37.5%, which was in line with the field investigation results and demonstrated the carbon sequestration capacity of all the restored mines was effectively improved; and (2) the weights of the criterion layer were ranked as system stability > vegetation > soil with the largest value of 0.547, indicating the stability of the system is the main factor in the carbon sequestration capacity of the mines and the sustainability of the vegetation community and the stability of soil fixation on the slope. The proposed evaluation system effectively evaluates the short-term carbon sequestration capability of the restoration mining system according to the visual effects and the laboratory testing results, objectively reflecting the carbon sequestration capacity via qualitative assessment and quantitative analysis. The evaluation method is relatively applicable and reliable for restoration mines and can provide a reference for similar ecological restoration engineering. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Solutions for Land Reclamation and Post-mining Land Uses)
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