Environmental assessment uncovers concentric zones of biological degradation in podzol soils near mine tailings, indicating clear spatial boundaries for ecological management.
Key Points
To establish an environmental regulation framework that identifies permissible pollutant levels and zones of soil degradation around waste disposal sites to preserve ecological functions.
Assessed podzol soils along radial transects surrounding a hydraulic-fill tin ore tailings storage facility.
Measured biological responses—specifically soil respiration rate, soil microbial biomass, and vegetation index—in relation to copper, arsenic, and sulfur contamination gradients.
Categorized surrounding lands into five concentric quality zones based on calculated reductions in soil bioorganic potential.
Bioorganic potential decreases by up to 30% in category 2, 40–50% in categories 3–4, and exceeds 50% in category 5 within the tailings storage facility.
Zonal boundaries extend 0.4–1.1 km for category 2, 0.3–0.4 km for category 3, and from the facility boundary to 0.3 km for category 4.
Conventional background conditions (category 1) occur only at distances greater than 0.8–1.1 km across the entire perimeter of the site.