GIS-Based Assessment of Soil Chemical and Physical Properties as a Basis for Land Reclamation in Toshka Area, Aswan, EGYPT

The accurate assessment of soil properties is a crucial factor for composing and implementing reclamation plans. The main objective of this study was to evaluate soil chemical and physical properties and calculate the chemical and fertility index for assisting land reclamation in Toshka area. The Toshka area is located between latitudes 31°32'N and 31°36'N and longitudes 32°40'E and 32°60'E. GIS was used to select 16 sites. The results revealed the soil has undesirable characteristics. The soil pH ranged from slightly alkaline to moderately alkaline. Furthermore, it was characterized as saline (with a ECe of 4.65 - 11.45 dS⋅m−1) and moderately calcareous soil (with CaCO3 at 11.85% - 17.20%). The soil had a low soil organic matter content which did not exceed 0.18%. The soil was dominated by a sandy loam texture (62.50%) followed by a sandy clay loam texture (18.75%). The bulk density, total soil porosity and saturated hydraulic conductivity values varied with 1.38 - 1.55 Mg⋅cm−3, 41.85% - 48.45% and 1.20 - 3.34 cm⋅h−1, respectively. The chemical index ranged from low to moderate quality. The correlations between the parameters osculated between negative and positive. Therefore, the soil may be reclaimed if the soil properties are improved and crop selection is optimized for this soil.

Zoning of land reclamation in coal mining area and new progresses for the past 10 years

Coal mining disturbed land is the main sources of land reclamation in China.With the rapid increase of economy and coal production,more and more land has been disturbed by construction and coal mining;thus,land reclamation has become highlights in the past 10 years,and China is boosting land reclamation in mining areas.Disturbance characteristics vary from region to region,according to natural and geological conditions,coal mining area land reclamation was divided into 3 zones,which are eastern,western and southern.Reclamation strategies are focused on prime farmland protection in eastern and ecological restoration in western and southern zones,respectively.Several innovative reclamation technologies and theories for the past 10 years were introduced in this paper,including concurrent mining and reclamation,Yellow river sediments backfilling,self-reclamation,and topsoil alternatives in opencast mines.Besides,in the government regulation and legal system building respect,several important laws and regulations were issued and implemented in the past 5 years,promoting land reclamation management and supervision greatly.Land reclamation is and will still be one of the most important parts of coal industry in the future,and more efforts and funds are expected to get involved.

Selection of optimal land uses for the reclamation of surface mines by using evolutionary algorithms

A methodology for the selection of the optimal land uses of the reclamation of mined areas is proposed. It takes into consideration several multi-nature criteria and constraints, including spatial constrains related to the permissible land uses in certain parts of the mined area. The methodology combines desirability functions and evolution searching algorithms for selection of the optimal reclamation scheme. Its application for the reclamation planning of the Amynteon lignite surface mine in Greece indicated that it handles effectively spatial and non-spatial constraints and incorporates easily the decision-makers preferences regarding the reclamation strategy in the optimization procedure.

The ecological cost of land reclamation and its enlightenment to coast sustainable development in the northwestern Bohai Bay,China

Land has been widely reclaimed in large area in coastal zones all over the world to relieve the pressure of land shortage,promoting social development and economic growth.Asia has become a focus of land reclamation with the rapid industrialization and urbanization.From the Binhai New Area of Tianjin to the Caofeidian New Area of Tangshan,the undergoing project of land reclamation on the northwest coast of Bohai Bay,China,is the largest in the world.To clarify the environmental issues and benefit sustainable development of the coastal zone,we conducted both retrospective and predictive assessments of the ecological cost caused by land reclamation on the northwest coast of Bohai Bay,China.We calculated the ecological costs of ten aspects of the four ecosystem services,i.e.,supply,regulation,support and culture,with the monetary estimate approach.The results indicate that the ecological cost of the new land reclamation is US$971.9 million from 2000 to 2010 and that the cost will be US$702.1 million from 2010 to 2020.The costs of gas regulation and marine food supply account for the greatest parts of the total value.Suggestions for land reclamation oriented to sustainable development in the study area are put forward,including a rational planning based on the comprehensive evaluation,reducing the amount of land reclamation area,optimizing the structure of the reclaimed land,reclaiming land with the concept of ＂low impact development＂ and implementing ecological compensation mechanisms,etc.

Land reclamation in the refuse dump of open coal mines and its following ecology principle

Through the research on the model of the land reclamation in the refuse dumpof Heidaigou open coal mines,it was concerned that ecology was the theoretical basic forthe land reclamation of open coal mines.According to the principle of ecological substitut-ing,the land reclamation can be divided into three stages:water and soil conservation,ecological performance and economic performance.Taking the land reclamation in the re-fuse dump of Heidaigou open coal mines as the practical example,explained the applica-tion of the ecological substituting principle on the land reclamation in the open coal mines.

Optimization and Control in the Low-carbon Reclamation of Damaged Land in Mine Areas

The process of exploiting mining land is the process of carbon increasing. The goal of top-level design of the mine land reclamation is not clear, which causes the reducing of carbon sink capacity. The mine land reclamation program targeted poorly, which is bad for the control of overall carbon resource and emission. According to the requirements in regional division of encouraged, restricted and prohibited development, in various regions, multiple objectives were set as to maximize economic benefits and not to reduce the carbon sinks level of mine area, using Markov process optimization land-use structure, and based on the land type and characteristics, by floating changing, increasing or decreasing, land exploitation structure was adjusted to meet the need of low-carbon mine land exploitation.

Study on the Land Reclamation of Oilfield of Gurbantunggut Desert in Junggar Basin

The exploration and development of oilfield results in damages to land resources. Along with the further development of petroleum in the Gurbantunggut Desert, the fragile ecological environment and land resource was suffering much more damage. Vegetation degradation and desertification become more prominent. In response to the damage to the fragile ecological environment and oilfield in the Gurbantunggut Desert, limit condition method was used to evaluate the suitability of land reclamation suitability. Results suggested that the main restraining factors for land reclamation were soil condition and water resources. Based on the effect and shortage of oilfield in the Gurbantunggut Desert Oilfield, the reclamation of oilfield in the Gurbantunggut desert was discussed.

A Preliminary Study on the Problems and Improvement of the Latest Land Use Classification System in China

The establishment of a unified land use classification system is the basis for realizing the unified management of land and sea,urban and rural areas,and aboveground and underground space.In November 2020,the Ministry of Natural Resources of the People's Republic of China issued the Classification Guide for Land and Space Survey,Planning and Use Control of Land and Sea(for Trial Implementation),which aims to establish a national unified land and sea use classification system,lay an important foundation for scientific planning and unified management of natural resources,rational use and protection of natural resources,and speed up the construction of a new pattern of land and space development and protection.However,there are still some obvious shortcomings in the Classification Guide.This paper analyzes some problems existing in this classification standard from three aspects of logicality,rigorousness and comprehensiveness,and puts forward some suggestions for further improvement.This has important practical significance to better guiding the practice of land use and land resources management,and then to achieving the goal of unified management of natural resources.

Application of waste mushroom on land reclamation in the refuse dump of Haizhou Open-pit Mines

In order to rapidly increase the degree of maturation of the soil in land reclamation of the refuse dump of the Haizhou open-pit mines, the application of waste mushroomin the process of soil improvement in the dump was studied. Through the research onplant growth, root development and microbial changes in soil and change of physical andchemical characteristics of the plot, the result shows that waste mushroom can increasethe degree of maturation of the soil and improve soil fertility.

Application of the organic and environment evolving principle on the land reclamation in the open coal mines

According to the evolving principle of the organic and environment, firstly, for the purpose of growing and keeping the ground, some legume species were chosen as pioneer plants to improve the construction of soil and increased soil fertility in the light of the land term and soil condition. Along with soil fertility increased, it is necessary to culti-vate some shrubs and arbors which have extra resistance. Gradually it becomes the stereoscopic landscape of planting arbor-shrub-herb plants. So that the evolving of the organic and environment can be enhanced. Taking the land reclamation in the refuse dump of Heidaigou open coal mines as the practical example, explained the application of the organic and environment evolving principle on the land reclamation in the open coal mines.

Analysis of Household Management Behavior in the Reclamation and Agricultural Area under Different Land Systems

In the paper, three farms of Jiansanjiang Farming Bureau and five villages in of Dayushu Town in Fujin county randomly were taken as data sources for the investigation of household behavior of reclamation and agricultural area under different land systems, and it can be concluded that the main content included production scale, arable land use structure, household behavior and economic benefits. By comparison and analysis, the advantages and disadvantages of reclamation and agricultural area can be found, which could provide references for agricultural land reform for achieving a more suitable socio-economic of efficient use and sustained and healthy development of agriculture.

On the Temporary Land Reclamation of Liyang-Guangde Expressway( Anhui Section)

This paper analyzes the temporary land type,distribution and area of Liyang- Guangde Expressway( Anhui section),and based on the natural conditions of regions that the expressway runs through,predicts the degree of damage to different types of temporary land,and designs the reclamation mode according to local conditions.

The environment of coal mining areas and the economic evaluation of the land reclamation

The environment impact of the coal resources mining was analyzed. The method of economic evaluation for the coal mining was established to analyze land destruction. The opportunity cost method was used to quantitatively analyze and estimate the economic loss of the land destruction by coal mining. At the same time, the dump land reclamation of the Yuanbaoshan Open Pit was taken as an example to evaluate environmental and economical benefit with the method of economic evaluation for the coal mining areas land reclamation.

Impact of Land Reclamation on the Vegetal Cover of Bayelsa State, Nigeria

The study examined the impact of land reclamation on vegetal cover in Bayelsa State.For the purpose of this study,both quantitative and quali­tative research methods were adopted.Field observations,questionnaire survey and landsat imagery of land cover changes in the year 1986 and 2018 were generated from the global ground cover facility stream.The time series study design and supervised classification of the image processing were adopted to determine the impact of land reclamation on vegetal cover of the study area.It was therefore recommended that recovery of land will make strategic urban planning initiatives sustainable in overcrowded areas and institutions should also put in place laws and strategies to regulate rec­lamation activities across the region and also geo-spatial skills should be put in place to help quantify the dynamics,trends and rate of reclamation induced land cover change in the environment.

Discussion on Land Use Mode Reform in Coal Opencast Mining

The existing land supply mode of opencast mining is"land requisition first,then transfer",which lacks an effective recovery and withdrawal mechanism,and the reclaimed mining land is difficult to withdraw.According to the regular rules of coal opencast mining and the periodic characteristics of land use,this paper puts forward a new mode of temporary land use for coal opencast mining.It is conducive to im-proving the quality and scale of land use and reclamation utilization of opencast coal mining,and is of great significance for exploring and for-mulating reasonable land use policies for mineral resources development projects.

Remote sensing monitoring of the recent rapid increase in cultivation activities and its effects on desertification in the Mu Us Desert, China

The recent ecological improvement in the Mu Us Desert of China, largely attributed to large-scale afforestation projects, has created new opportunities for cultivation activities. However, the subsequent rapid increase in reclamation on desertification land and its impact on desertification have raised concerns. In this study, we first extracted data on cultivated land and desertification land in 1975,1990, 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2020 through the human-computer interaction visual interpretation method. By overlaying the cultivated land dynamics and desertification land, we subsequently explored the effect of cultivation activities on desertification in the Mu Us Desert during the six periods from 1975 to 2020(1975–1990, 1990–2000, 2000–2005, 2005–2010, 2010–2015, and 2015–2020). The results showed that cultivated land in the Mu Us Desert showed a fluctuating and increasing trend from 3769.26 km~2 in 1975 to 4865.73 km~2 in 2020, with 2010 as the turning point for the recent rapid increase. The main contributors included the large and regular patches distributed in Yuyang District and Shenmu of Shaanxi Province, and relatively smaller patches concentrated in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. The increased cultivated land from the reclamation on desertification land was dominated by moderate and severe desertification lands, and the decreased cultivated land that was transferred into desertification land as abandoned cultivated land was dominated by slight and moderate desertification lands. The effect of cultivation activities on desertification reversal(average area proportion of 10.61% for reversed desertification land) was greater than that of the development of desertification(average area proportion of 5.82% for developed desertification land). Nevertheless, compared to reversed desertification land,both the significant increase of developed desertification land during the periods of 2000–2005 and 2005–2010 and the insignificant decrease during the periods of 2005–2010, 2010–2015, and 2015–2020 implied a potential remobilization risk. Therefore, this study provides a significant theoretical reference for the formulation of ecological restoration projects and regional macroeconomic development policies by considering the influence of cultivation activities, to ensure the overall environmental stability and sustainability in desertification land where reclamation and abandonment activities have taken place.

Suitability evaluation for land reclamation in mining area:A case study of Gaoqiao bauxite mine

Suitability evaluation plays an important role in land reclamation because the choice of evaluation methods affects the accuracy and objectivity of the suitability evaluation results. Furthermore, it influences the decision-making related to land reclamation. An improved method, which is called limit comprehensive conditions method, was developed after different suitability evaluation methods were studied. Based on this method, the reclaimed land of the Gaoqiao bauxite mining area was evaluated. The Gaoqiao mining area was divided into seven evaluation units that were evaluated respectively by selecting evaluation factors and establishing grade standards. The results show that the proposed method is more applicable and easier to handle. Moreover, its evaluation results are more scientific compared with the traditional evaluation methods. The improved method can be beneficial to the rapid monitoring and the effective management of reclaimed land in the opencast mine area.

Land cover changes and the effects of cultivation on soil properties in Shelihu wetland,Horqin Sandy Land,Northern China

Land cover change plays an essential role in the alternation of soils properties. By field investigation and applying satellite images, land cover information in the Shelihu wetland was carried out in an area of 2,819 hm2 in 1985, 1995, 2000, 2005, 2010 and 2011, respectively, in Horqin Sandy Land. A total of 57 soil sampling sites across Shelihu were chosen in wet meadow （CL0）, cropland （CL） and sandy land （SL） according to the spatial characteristics of water body change. Soil texture, organic carbon （SOC）, total nitrogen （TN） and total phosphorus （TP） contents, electrical conductivity （EC） and pH were measured at the soil depths of 0-10, 10-20 and 20-40 cm to examine the influence of agricultural conversion and continuous cultivation on soil properties. The results showed that the study area was covered by water body in 1985, which gradually declined afterwards and then reclaimed rapidly at a mean annual rate of 132.1 hm2/a from wet meadow to cropland since 1995. In 2011, water body was drained and the area was occupied by 10.8% of CL0, 76.9% of CL and 12.3% of SL. Large amounts of SOC, TN and TP were accumulated in the above depths in CL0. Soil in CL0 also had higher EC and silt and clay fractions, lower pH than in SL and CL. Soil in SL was seriously degraded with lower contents of SOC, TN and TP than in CL and CL0. SOC, TN content and EC in CL decreased with the increase of cultivation age, while pH showed a reverse trend with significance at plough horizon. The agricultural conversion in Shelihu was driven by the comprehensive factors of precipitation reduction, economic development and intense competitions for irrigation water. Continuous cultivation in this process is not sustainable because of SOC degradation and nutrient content reduction. The key point is that conventional tillage and removal of residuals induced further land degradation. Wetland reclamation for immediate economic interests led to greater costs in the long-term environmental restoration in Horqin Sandy Land.

Effects of cluster land reclamation projects on storm surge inJiaojiang Estuary,China

Variations in coastline geometry caused by coastal engineering affect tides, storm surges, and storm tides. Three cluster land reclamation projects have been planned for construction in the Jiaojiang Estuary during the period from 2011 to 2023. They will cause significant changes in coastline geometry. In this study, a surge-tide coupled model was established based on a three-dimensional finite-volume coastal ocean model （FVCOM）. A series of numerical experiments were carried out to investigate the effects of variations in coastline geometry on tides, storm surges, and storm tides. This model was calibrated using data observed at the Haimen and Ruian gauge stations and then used to reproduce the tides, storm surges, and storm tides in the Jiaojiang Estuary caused by Typhoon Winnie in 1997. Results show that the high tide level, peak storm surge, and high storm tide level at the Haimen Gauge Station increased along with the completion of reclamation projects, and the maximum increments caused by the third project were 0.13 m, 0.50 m, and 0.43 m, respectively. The envelopes with maximum storm tide levels of 7.0 m and 8.0 m inside the river mouth appeared to move seaward, with the latter shifting 1.8 km, 3.3 km, and 4.4 km due to the first project, second project, and third project, respectively. The results achieved in this study contribute to reducing the effects of, and preventing storm disasters after the land reclamation in the Jiaojiang Estuary.