The Influence of Human Activities and Climate Change on the Spatiotemporal Variations of Eco-Environmental Quality in Shendong Mining Area, China from 1990 to 2023
The Shendong mining area is the largest coal production base in western China. Due to long-term mining activities, the ecological environment quality (<i>EEQ</i>) of the Shendong mining area has undergone significant changes. Investigating the evolution of <i>EEQ</i> during t...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2025-02-01
|
| Series: | Applied Sciences |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/5/2296 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| Summary: | The Shendong mining area is the largest coal production base in western China. Due to long-term mining activities, the ecological environment quality (<i>EEQ</i>) of the Shendong mining area has undergone significant changes. Investigating the evolution of <i>EEQ</i> during the process of mineral resource exploitation is of great importance for the sustainable development of the mining area. However, current research lacks a quantitative assessment of the contributions of climate change and human activities to the spatiotemporal variations in <i>EEQ</i> in the Shendong mining area. In this study, the Remote Sensing Ecological Index (<i>RSEI</i>) was used as an <i>EEQ</i> evaluation metric. The Theil–Sen slope estimation and Mann–Kendall test were applied to analyze the spatiotemporal changes of <i>EEQ</i> from 1990 to 2023. Additionally, the partial derivative method was used to investigate the response characteristics of <i>EEQ</i> to climatic factors and human activities and to quantify the relative contributions of these two driving factors. The results indicate that, over the past 34 years, the overall <i>EEQ</i> in the study area has shown an improving trend. Compared to 1990, the proportions of areas with good-grade and excellent-grade <i>EEQ</i> in 2023 increased by 28% and 23.78%, respectively. Additionally, in the second phase (2011–2023), the average <i>RSEI</i> time series value significantly increased compared to the first phase (1990–2010). Among the climatic factors, annual precipitation had the greatest impact on <i>EEQ</i>, with an average contribution rate of 0.085. The conversion of unused land to forestland significantly improved the <i>EEQ</i>, with the area showing a very significant increase in <i>RSEI</i>, accounting for 82.30%. The areas in the mining region showing very significant, significant, and slight increases in <i>RSEI</i> were smaller than the overall study area. In conclusion, the overall <i>EEQ</i> in the study area has shown an improving trend, with climate change being the dominant factor in 71.52% of the areas where <i>RSEI</i> increased, while human activities were the dominant factor in 26.89% of the areas where <i>RSEI</i> decreased. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 2076-3417 |