Ecological and geographical prerequisites for the selection of technological solutions for biological reclaimation of disturbed lands

Abstract

More than half of Russia’s coal is extracted in the Kemerovo region. Unfortunately, coal mining causes significant environmental damage and is one of the most hazardous human activities. Coal dumps contribute to the degradation of vegetation, fauna, agricultural, and forest lands. Traditional reclamation methods have shown limited effectiveness and require improvement. Therefore, the aim of this article is to develop preliminary technological solutions for the biological reclamation of a coal mine dump in the Kemerovo region, located in the Prokopyevsky district, based on the area’s ecological and geographical parameters. For this purpose, aerial photography using a DJI Matrice 30 and laser scanning with a Slam scanner (robotslam lite) were conducted, and the climatic and botanical-geographical characteristics of the area were studied. As a result of the data analysis, it was determined that, overall, the natural and climatic conditions of the area are favorable and allow for reclamation work aimed at creating forest and grassy plantings for sanitary-protective, forestry, and agricultural purposes. In the first stage, it is necessary to create a favorable root zone using potentially fertile rocks and humus-rich materials from fertile soil layers. In the biological stage of reclamation, local tree and shrub species, as well as fruit and berry crops, are planned to be used to form the soil-plant layer.