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!
|
| _version_ | 1850034852744658944 |
|---|---|
| author | Yu Tian Zhile Wang Chuning Ji Zehao Feng Xiang Lu |
| author_facet | Yu Tian Zhile Wang Chuning Ji Zehao Feng Xiang Lu |
| author_sort | Yu Tian |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | 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. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-d6ade053c01b46db81ef882a3cbecfa7 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2076-3417 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Applied Sciences |
| spelling | doaj-art-d6ade053c01b46db81ef882a3cbecfa72025-08-20T02:57:40ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172025-02-01155229610.3390/app15052296The Influence of Human Activities and Climate Change on the Spatiotemporal Variations of Eco-Environmental Quality in Shendong Mining Area, China from 1990 to 2023Yu Tian0Zhile Wang1Chuning Ji2Zehao Feng3Xiang Lu4School of Environmental Science and Spatial Informatics, China University of Mining Technology, Xuzhou 221116, ChinaSchool of Mines, China University of Mining Technology, Xuzhou 221116, ChinaSchool of Mines, China University of Mining Technology, Xuzhou 221116, ChinaSchool of Mines, China University of Mining Technology, Xuzhou 221116, ChinaSchool of Mines, China University of Mining Technology, Xuzhou 221116, ChinaThe 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.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/5/2296ecological environment qualityremote sensing ecological indexcoal miningland-use type transitionsShendong mining area |
| spellingShingle | Yu Tian Zhile Wang Chuning Ji Zehao Feng Xiang Lu 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 Applied Sciences ecological environment quality remote sensing ecological index coal mining land-use type transitions Shendong mining area |
| title | 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 |
| title_full | 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 |
| title_fullStr | 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 |
| title_full_unstemmed | 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 |
| title_short | 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 |
| title_sort | influence of human activities and climate change on the spatiotemporal variations of eco environmental quality in shendong mining area china from 1990 to 2023 |
| topic | ecological environment quality remote sensing ecological index coal mining land-use type transitions Shendong mining area |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/5/2296 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT yutian theinfluenceofhumanactivitiesandclimatechangeonthespatiotemporalvariationsofecoenvironmentalqualityinshendongminingareachinafrom1990to2023 AT zhilewang theinfluenceofhumanactivitiesandclimatechangeonthespatiotemporalvariationsofecoenvironmentalqualityinshendongminingareachinafrom1990to2023 AT chuningji theinfluenceofhumanactivitiesandclimatechangeonthespatiotemporalvariationsofecoenvironmentalqualityinshendongminingareachinafrom1990to2023 AT zehaofeng theinfluenceofhumanactivitiesandclimatechangeonthespatiotemporalvariationsofecoenvironmentalqualityinshendongminingareachinafrom1990to2023 AT xianglu theinfluenceofhumanactivitiesandclimatechangeonthespatiotemporalvariationsofecoenvironmentalqualityinshendongminingareachinafrom1990to2023 AT yutian influenceofhumanactivitiesandclimatechangeonthespatiotemporalvariationsofecoenvironmentalqualityinshendongminingareachinafrom1990to2023 AT zhilewang influenceofhumanactivitiesandclimatechangeonthespatiotemporalvariationsofecoenvironmentalqualityinshendongminingareachinafrom1990to2023 AT chuningji influenceofhumanactivitiesandclimatechangeonthespatiotemporalvariationsofecoenvironmentalqualityinshendongminingareachinafrom1990to2023 AT zehaofeng influenceofhumanactivitiesandclimatechangeonthespatiotemporalvariationsofecoenvironmentalqualityinshendongminingareachinafrom1990to2023 AT xianglu influenceofhumanactivitiesandclimatechangeonthespatiotemporalvariationsofecoenvironmentalqualityinshendongminingareachinafrom1990to2023 |