Spatiotemporal interactions between surface coal mining and land cover and use changes

Long-term surface mining and land cover/use changes have been evidenced to have a critical relationship. This study investigates the evolution of this relationship for Ptolemais (Northern Greece) coal mining area during the period 1990-2018. In this context, satellite images, Corine data, and mining maps were used. A relative spatial indicator (RSI) was adopted to describe the mineral land areas and ArcGIS tools to define the land cover and use changes. Furthermore, mine operation parameters were statistically analyzed concerning land cover/use areas. The study revealed that areas described as “mineral extraction sites” present a strong correlation with “non-irrigated arable land” and “transitional woodland”. From 1990 to 2018, the total forest area was increased by three times, mainly as a result of the dumping sites’ geometry. Additionally, the mine operation parameters are well correlated with the active mining area, and more specifically, there is a linear relationship between the stripping ratio and the ratio of lignite production to active mining area. In the general case, the calculated annual changing rate of land use types may contribute to the prediction of future land reclamation uses and, consequently, to land reclamation planning in due time.