Affiliations: Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences,
Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China; E-mail: miaozewei@yahoo.
com | Department of Soil Science, Shanxi Agricultural
University Taigu, 030801, China
Abstract: It is well known that the mining industry produces a large amount of
derelict land, and muses pollution of water loss and soil erosion as well as
other environmental damage in China. As land is under pressure in China, it is
now policy to restore or reclaim land despoiled by mining, the aim being to
develop sustainable and healthy arable land ecosystems. This paper outlines the
principles and approaches of ecological restoration, which have been adopted in
Shanxi Province with reference to three typical surface mines. In the research,
the principles of ecological engineering and ecological succession are
considered as the critical theories of ecological restoration in mine degraded
land. Meanwhile, the paper made a comparative research on main links of
ecological rebuilding in three surface mines in Shanxi Province, which include
new land construction, treatment of toxic substances, control of soil erosion,
fertility management, irrigation, ecological planning and the establishment of
legislation systems. As the research demonstrated, for successful restoration,
new land construction is the fundamental framework, but it must be integrated
with ecological engineering including ecological planning, the control of soil
erosion and vegetation establishment and ecosystem creation in order to
optimiee land productivity and soil fertility. In addition, the establishment
of the legislation systems and organization of administration are also
indispensable aspects of ecological rebuilding in mined land.
Keywords: ecological restoration, land reclamation, open-pit mine
