IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jlands/v12y2023i2p467-d1066876.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Influence of Acid Mine Drainage Leakage from Tailings Ponds on the Soil Quality of Desert Steppe in the Northwest Arid Region of China

Author

Listed:
  • Jianfei Shi

    (Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, National Engineering Technology Research Center for Desert-Oasis Ecological Construction, Urumqi 830054, China
    University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China)

  • Wenting Qian

    (Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, National Engineering Technology Research Center for Desert-Oasis Ecological Construction, Urumqi 830054, China)

  • Zhibin Zhou

    (Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, National Engineering Technology Research Center for Desert-Oasis Ecological Construction, Urumqi 830054, China)

  • Zhengzhong Jin

    (Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, National Engineering Technology Research Center for Desert-Oasis Ecological Construction, Urumqi 830054, China)

  • Xinwen Xu

    (Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, National Engineering Technology Research Center for Desert-Oasis Ecological Construction, Urumqi 830054, China)

Abstract

As decision-making tools helping to improve the understanding of soil quality, soil quality assessment and heavy metal pollution assessment are very important for the remediation of heavy metal soil pollution. In the past, soil quality and heavy metal pollution have been studied separately, and few studies have combined them. The desert steppe in the Northwest Arid Region is an important pasture resource in China, and its soil safety has always been the focus of attention. Therefore, to understand the impact of tailing stockpiles on the soil quality of desert steppe, this study analyzed 18 indicators in the sample and analyzed the soil quality status of desert steppe based on the soil quality index (SQI) and Nemerow pollution index ( P com ). The main conclusions are as follows. (1) The evaluation results of heavy metal soil pollution show that the heavy metals Cu, Ni, Cr and Cd are significant polluters, Mn is a moderate polluter and Zn is a slight polluter. The results of the positive matrix factorization model show that Cu and Ni come from industrial sources; Cr, Cd and Zn come from industrial and traffic sources; and Mn comes from natural sources. (2) Regarding the study area, the generated minimum data set contains clay, pH, soil organic matter, available phosphorus, urease and neutral phosphatase. (3) The results of the SQI show that the soil in the study area is grade V (SQI-TDS ave (total data set) = 0.42; SQI-MDS ave (minimum data set) = 0.39), and the soil condition is very poor. 4) The linear fitting results show that the SQI-MDS was positively correlated with the SQI-TDS ( R 2 = 0.79), and SQI-MDS and SQI-TDS were negatively correlated with the P com ( R 2 > 0.6). Therefore, the leakage of acid mine drainage from tailings pond accumulation has led to a significant decline in the soil quality of this desert steppe, and effective ecological restoration measures are urgently needed to ensure the sustainable stability of the steppe ecosystem.

Suggested Citation

  • Jianfei Shi & Wenting Qian & Zhibin Zhou & Zhengzhong Jin & Xinwen Xu, 2023. "Influence of Acid Mine Drainage Leakage from Tailings Ponds on the Soil Quality of Desert Steppe in the Northwest Arid Region of China," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-17, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:12:y:2023:i:2:p:467-:d:1066876
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/12/2/467/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/12/2/467/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Baixue Wang & Weiming Cheng & Keyu Song & Suiji Wang & Yichi Zhang & Hao Li & Jiayin Deng & Ruibo Wang, 2022. "Application of Ecology-Geomorphology Cognition Approach in Land Type Classification: A Case Study in the Altay Region," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-22, March.
    2. Maurício R Cherubin & Douglas L Karlen & Carlos E P Cerri & André L C Franco & Cássio A Tormena & Christian A Davies & Carlos C Cerri, 2016. "Soil Quality Indexing Strategies for Evaluating Sugarcane Expansion in Brazil," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(3), pages 1-26, March.
    3. Omer, Abdeen Mustafa, 2008. "Energy, environment and sustainable development," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 12(9), pages 2265-2300, December.
    4. Yingying Xing & Ning Wang & Xiaoli Niu & Wenting Jiang & Xiukang Wang, 2021. "Assessment of Potato Farmland Soil Nutrient Based on MDS-SQI Model in the Loess Plateau," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-13, April.
    5. Zhiping Yang & Rong Zhang & Hongying Li & Xiaoyuan Zhao & Xiaojie Liu, 2022. "Heavy Metal Pollution and Soil Quality Assessment under Different Land Uses in the Red Soil Region, Southern China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(7), pages 1-15, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Anna Laura Pisello & Gloria Pignatta & Veronica Lucia Castaldo & Franco Cotana, 2014. "Experimental Analysis of Natural Gravel Covering as Cool Roofing and Cool Pavement," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 6(8), pages 1-17, July.
    2. Tutar, Halit & Eren, Ömer & Er, Hasan & Gonulal, Erdal & Gokdogan, Osman, 2025. "Field-based experimental greenhouse gas emissions and energy use efficiency study of sorghum x sudan grass hybrid growth in a semi-arid region," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 315(C).
    3. Anna Barwińska Małajowicz & Miroslava Knapková & Krzysztof Szczotka & Miriam Martinkovičová & Radosław Pyrek, 2022. "Energy Efficiency Policies in Poland and Slovakia in the Context of Individual Well-Being," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(1), pages 1-29, December.
    4. Deng, Cheng-gang & Chen, Fei, 2021. "Model verification and photo-thermal conversion assessment of a novel facade embedded compound parabolic concentrator," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 220(C).
    5. Toledo, Olga Moraes & Oliveira Filho, Delly & Diniz, Antônia Sônia Alves Cardoso, 2010. "Distributed photovoltaic generation and energy storage systems: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 14(1), pages 506-511, January.
    6. Baležentis, Alvydas & Baležentis, Tomas & Streimikiene, Dalia, 2011. "The energy intensity in Lithuania during 1995–2009: A LMDI approach," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(11), pages 7322-7334.
    7. Turetta, Ana Paula Dias & Kuyper, Thomas & Malheiros, Tadeu Fabrício & Coutinho, Heitor Luiz da Costa, 2017. "A framework proposal for sustainability assessment of sugarcane in Brazil," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 597-603.
    8. Zoltan Varga & Ervin Racz, 2022. "Machine Learning Analysis on the Performance of Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell—Thermoelectric Generator Hybrid System," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(19), pages 1-18, October.
    9. Murshed, Muntasir, 2019. "Trade Liberalization Policies and Renewable Energy Transition in Low and Middle-Income Countries? An Instrumental Variable Approach," MPRA Paper 97075, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Houljakbe Houlteurbe Dagou & Asli Pelin Gurgun & Kerim Koc & Cenk Budayan, 2025. "The Future of Construction: Integrating Innovative Technologies for Smarter Project Management," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(10), pages 1-29, May.
    11. Kumar, Yogesh & Ringenberg, Jordan & Depuru, Soma Shekara & Devabhaktuni, Vijay K. & Lee, Jin Woo & Nikolaidis, Efstratios & Andersen, Brett & Afjeh, Abdollah, 2016. "Wind energy: Trends and enabling technologies," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 209-224.
    12. Andrea Pianella & Lu Aye & Zhengdong Chen & Nicholas S. G. Williams, 2017. "Substrate Depth, Vegetation and Irrigation Affect Green Roof Thermal Performance in a Mediterranean Type Climate," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(8), pages 1-19, August.
    13. Ming-Ta Tu & Li-Shiue Gau & Ji-Hwan Park & Wen-Shin Huang & Pham Thuy Duong & Jong-Chae Kim, 2022. "Smart and Sustainable Management of Shoe Machinery Companies in Taiwan during the COVID-19 Pandemic—Case Studies of the Tung Sheng Company and Strong Basic Enterprise Limited Company," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-11, August.
    14. Hepbasli, Arif & Alsuhaibani, Zeyad, 2011. "Exergetic and exergoeconomic aspects of wind energy systems in achieving sustainable development," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 15(6), pages 2810-2825, August.
    15. Maurício Roberto Cherubin & João Luís Nunes Carvalho & Carlos Eduardo Pellegrino Cerri & Luiz Augusto Horta Nogueira & Glaucia Mendes Souza & Heitor Cantarella, 2021. "Land Use and Management Effects on Sustainable Sugarcane-Derived Bioenergy," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-24, January.
    16. Streimikiene, Dalia & Alisauskaite-Seskiene, Ilona, 2014. "External costs of electricity generation options in Lithuania," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 215-224.
    17. Suberu, Mohammed Yekini & Mustafa, Mohd Wazir & Bashir, Nouruddeen & Muhamad, Nor Asiah & Mokhtar, Ahmad Safawi, 2013. "Power sector renewable energy integration for expanding access to electricity in sub-Saharan Africa," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 25(C), pages 630-642.
    18. Duan, Wenqi & Khurshid, Adnan & Nazir, Naila & Khan, Khalid & Calin, Adrian Cantemir, 2022. "From gray to green: Energy crises and the role of CPEC," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 190(C), pages 188-207.
    19. Manzano-Agugliaro, Francisco & Montoya, Francisco G. & Sabio-Ortega, Andrés & García-Cruz, Amós, 2015. "Review of bioclimatic architecture strategies for achieving thermal comfort," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 736-755.
    20. Nuraini Rahim & Lazim Abdullah & Binyamin Yusoff, 2020. "A Border Approximation Area Approach Considering Bipolar Neutrosophic Linguistic Variable for Sustainable Energy Selection," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-21, May.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:12:y:2023:i:2:p:467-:d:1066876. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.