Characterizing and attributing the vegetation coverage changes in North Shanxi coal base of China from 1987 to 2020

Coal mining activities can lead to large-scale and high-intensity ecological disturbances, which not only destroy a large amount of land resources, but also cause ecological disturbances and environmental pollution problems, such as regional surface erosion and vegetation destruction. As one of the fourteen large coal bases in China, the North Shanxi coal base is in the ecologically fragile Loess Plateau. Under the influence of coal mining and urbanization, the ecosystem has been seriously affected. Vegetation is a direct or indirect driver of ecosystem change. In this study, Sen's slope analysis and Mann-Kendall trend test were carried out to characterize the trend and significance of vegetation coverage change from 1987 to 2020 based on remote sensing images, and the future tendency was predicted using the Hurst index method. Moreover, the effects of natural and human factors on vegetation coverage were explored. From 1987 to 2001, the vegetation coverage showed a downward trend, and it continued to rise from 2001 to 2020. The overall vegetation coverage showed an upward trend from 1987 to 2020, and the improvement areas are mainly concentrated in the southwest and southeast mountains. Future vegetation coverage in the North Shanxi coal base showed strong randomness. Regional vegetation coverage changes were closely related to climate factors, and the policy of grain for green have also played an important role, while coal mining didn't present great impact on vegetation coverage changes. Therefore, relevant land use policy recommendations are put forward.

Automated summary

Coal mining activities can lead to large-scale and high-intensity ecological disturbances, affecting ecosystem and vegetation coverage. This study analyzed vegetation coverage changes in the North Shanxi coal base from 1987 to 2020 using remote sensing images and predicted future trends. The overall trend showed an increase in vegetation coverage, mainly concentrated in the southwest and southeast mountains, with future vegetation coverage showing strong randomness.