Optimizing soil water retention for ecological restoration of loess coal mining areas in China: A study of reconstruction formulations based on coal gangue and fly ash

IF 3.9 2区环境科学与生态学 Q1 ECOLOGY

Ecological Engineering Pub Date : 2025-06-21 DOI:10.1016/j.ecoleng.2025.107707

Jinxin He , Zixun Yan , Rongliulian Luo , Yingui Cao , Lanjian Wu , Yuechuan Hu , Yuxuan Fan , Jinman Wang

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

The key to ecological restoration in mining areas lies in the recovery of healthy and stable soil structures, with soil water retention directly influencing vegetation survival and the sustainability of ecosystems. However, existing research has primarily focused on evaluating the performance of different soil reconstruction schemes, with limited attention paid to the water retention capacity of reconstructed soils and their influencing factors. This study utilized coal gangue, fly ash, and topsoil as primary materials to design various soil reconstruction schemes. Soil column experiments were conducted to measure water retention under different configurations. Redundancy analysis, generalized linear regression, and the least squares method were employed to identify the mechanisms influencing water retention and to predict its variation patterns. The results indicated that water retention varied with different reconstruction layer thicknesses. Increases in sand and organic matter content were found to reduce the water retention capacity of reconstructed soils, while higher silt content significantly enhanced it. Furthermore, both the thickness of the reconstruction layer and the proportion of coal gangue were shown to exert significant effects on soil water retention. Modeling the relationships among the coal gangue-to-topsoil ratio, soil layer thickness, time, and water retention revealed that increasing the layer thickness may decrease water retention. A gangue-to-topsoil ratio of 1:2 with a soil thickness between 40 cm and 60 cm was found to offer optimal water retention performance. This research evaluates soil reconstruction schemes from the perspective of water retention and investigates both internal and external influencing factors. The findings aim to provide targeted technical guidance and a scientific basis for ecological restoration in mining areas.

查看原文本刊更多论文

基于煤矸石和粉煤灰的黄土矿区生态修复土壤保水优化配方研究

矿区生态恢复的关键在于恢复健康稳定的土壤结构，土壤保水直接影响植被的生存和生态系统的可持续性。然而，现有的研究主要集中在评价不同土壤改造方案的性能上，对改造土壤的保水能力及其影响因素的研究较少。本研究以煤矸石、粉煤灰和表土为主要材料，设计了各种土壤改造方案。采用土柱试验测定了不同配置下的土壤保水能力。采用冗余分析、广义线性回归和最小二乘方法确定了影响保水的机制，并预测了保水的变化规律。结果表明，不同重建层厚度的保水率不同。砂和有机质含量的增加降低了重建土的保水能力，而粉砂含量的增加则显著增强了重建土的保水能力。重建层厚度和煤矸石掺量对土壤保水性均有显著影响。对煤矸石与表土比、土层厚度、时间和保水率之间的关系进行建模，结果表明，增加土层厚度会降低保水率。矸石与表土的比例为1:2，土壤厚度在40 ~ 60 cm之间，具有最佳的保水性能。本研究从保水角度对土壤改造方案进行评价，并探讨了内部和外部影响因素。研究结果旨在为矿区生态恢复提供有针对性的技术指导和科学依据。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Ecological Engineering 环境科学-工程：环境

CiteScore

8.00

自引率

5.30%

发文量

293

审稿时长

57 days

期刊介绍： Ecological engineering has been defined as the design of ecosystems for the mutual benefit of humans and nature. The journal is meant for ecologists who, because of their research interests or occupation, are involved in designing, monitoring, or restoring ecosystems, and can serve as a bridge between ecologists and engineers. Specific topics covered in the journal include: habitat reconstruction; ecotechnology; synthetic ecology; bioengineering; restoration ecology; ecology conservation; ecosystem rehabilitation; stream and river restoration; reclamation ecology; non-renewable resource conservation. Descriptions of specific applications of ecological engineering are acceptable only when situated within context of adding novelty to current research and emphasizing ecosystem restoration. We do not accept purely descriptive reports on ecosystem structures (such as vegetation surveys), purely physical assessment of materials that can be used for ecological restoration, small-model studies carried out in the laboratory or greenhouse with artificial (waste)water or crop studies, or case studies on conventional wastewater treatment and eutrophication that do not offer an ecosystem restoration approach within the paper.