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Arid Land Geography ›› 2022, Vol. 45 ›› Issue (2): 413-422.doi: 10.12118/j.issn.1000–6060.2021.308

• Earth Surface Process • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Temporal and spatial pattern of coal mining sites’ stress on key ecological protection areas in the Yellow River Basin from 2012 to 2019

ZHANG Yuhan1(),ZHOU Pu2(),ZHAO Yu3   

  1. 1. Information Center, Ministry of Natural Resources, Beijing 100036
    2. Chinese Academy of Natural Resources Economics, Beijing 101149, China
    3. China Center for Information Industry Development, Beijing 100048, China
  • Received:2021-07-07 Revised:2021-10-16 Online:2022-03-25 Published:2022-04-02
  • Contact: Pu ZHOU E-mail:zhangyuhanwinter@sina.com;zhoupu1102@163.com

Abstract:

The Yellow River Basin is an important region for the energy supply of China and key for national ecological security. Coordination of coal resource development and ecological protection is essential to ensure energy and ecological security. Scholars in the fields of resources, environment, geology, and minerals have conducted several studies on the development of the coal industry and ecological environment in the Yellow River Basin. However, there is a lack of analysis on the coordinated development and change in coal resource development and ecological protection from the spatial stress perspective. Based on the key ecological protection area identification in the Yellow River Basin, the concept of spatial stress index was introduced. The mining sites and 50 m×50 m grid were taken as the basic unit of stress status analysis for the coal mine sites inside the key ecological protection areas in the Yellow River Basin. The space-time pattern of stress index development from 2012 to 2019 was analyzed. The results are as follows. (1) The stress degree of coal mining sites on the important ecological protection space of the Yellow River Basin is low, but the spatial differentiation characteristics are obvious. In 2019, the overall spatial stress index of the basin was only 1.01%, but it showed a slight upward trend from 2012 to 2019. The areas with a high-stress degree are mainly distributed in the Loess Plateau and western Shandong. However, the stress index in Henan, Qinling area, Qinghai, southern Ningxia, and Inner Mongolia (except Ordos and Wuhai) is relatively low. (2) The major ecological environment factors under stress include soil conservation, wind prevention, sand fixation function areas, soil erosion, and desertification sensitive areas. The stress degree of important soil conservation functional and soil erosion sensitive areas is the highest, followed by important wind prevention, sand fixation functional areas, and desertification sensitive areas. The stress from 2012 to 2019 is further enhanced. Important water conservation, biodiversity maintenance, protection functional areas, and salinization sensitive areas are less stressed. Almost all coal mining sites withdrew from important water conservation and biodiversity maintenance and protection functional areas in 2019. (3) The overall stress index rise across the Yellow River Basin is mainly caused by the rapid increase in overlapping between coal mine sites and key ecological protection areas. In most cities, the stress index drops, mainly distributed in southern Qinghai, Gansu, western Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, western Henan, southern Henan, Shandong, and Qinling areas. Coal mining is completely withdrawn from the key ecological protection areas in eight cities. More cities have considered the important ecological protection space in the region when withdrawing or increasing coal mining sites.

Key words: coal mining sites, spatial stress index, key ecological protection area, Yellow River Basin