Effect of coal mining on net primary productivity of vegetation in Shendong Mining Area

Coal mining in Shendong Mining area has an important impact on the local ecological environment, especially the growth of vegetation. In order to describe this effect quantitatively, this study uses a regional evapotranspiration model to calculate the Potential Net Primary Productivity (P_NP,p) of the Shendong mining area. MODIS17A3 dataset (2001—2022) was used to characterize the Actual Net Primary Productivity (P_NP,a), and combined with the monthly net primary productivity raster dataset of terrestrial ecosystems in China (P_NP,al, 1988—2015), using GWR model construction correction method to correct P_NP,al to obtain 1988—2000 P_NP,a data, and using the difference between the two P_NP,h to characterize the impact of coal mining. The effect of coal mining on vegetation P_NP in Shendong mining area was evaluated. The results show that: ① the accuracy of P_NP,al data corrected by GWR model is about 0.76, and the corrected P_NP,al data has a strong spatial correlation with the MODIS17A3 dataset, which indicates the reliability of the accuracy of the corrected model; ② The overall P_NP,a and P_NP,h of Shendong mining area showed a trend of decreasing first and then recovering gradually, but the P_NP of vegetation did not recover to the pre-mining level. The mean values of P_NP,h before mining and P_NP,h after mining are 21.50 g/m² and −60.20 g/m², respectively. P_NP,h<0 indicates that P_NP vegetation growth in mining areas is disturbed by mining activities, and the degraded mines are mainly distributed in high-intensity mining areas (calculated in C, the same below). ③ The change of P_NP value in Shendong mining area from 1996 to 2022 is mainly influenced by climate change and human activities. The proportion of human activities and climate change to ecological degradation is 35.7% and 8.2%, respectively. The I_\mathrmR\mathrmC from 1996 to 2015 is mainly about 0.5, indicating that coal mining plays a leading role in vegetation degradation. After 2016, the impact of photovoltaic power plant construction on P_NP showed a promoting effect. This study is helpful to understand the impact of coal mining on the dynamic change of net primary productivity of vegetation, and provides scientific basis for vegetation restoration and high-quality development in Shendong mining area.