Proyecto I+D
Project 21994/PI/22
Response of mine tailing soils from La Unión-Sierra de Cartagena to climate change: an experimental approach under field and climate chambers conditions
Of Regional scope. With a Public character. It has been granted under a regime of Competitive.
Soil pollution is one of the major threats facing terrestrial ecosystems. Metal mine wastes from ore processing are among the most hazardous residues. These wastes are oftendeposited in open-air piles (mine tailings). Classic-restoration approaches (technical reclamation) usually involve topsoil capping aiming to create a new soil above wastes and thenafforestation. These options have been questioned in semiarid regions due to ecosystem inability to be self-sustaining. An alternative, based on nature-based-solutions principles, is to promotethe growth of plants directly on mine wastes (phytomanagement by phytostabilization). This contributes to create the so-called fertility islands that may trigger plant-soil feedbacks andecosystem functioning. Choosing the most suitable management option should consider aspects such as the immediate risks posed by mine tailings (e.g., structure stability), their location(near or far from populations), and the economic costs of restoration. One of the main European old mining areas where a huge number of tailings were abandoned (89), most of them without any restoration measure, is La Unión-Sierra de Cartagena miningdistrict. (50 km2). Nowadays, about 23 Mm3 of mine wastes are exposed to wind and water erosion affecting local population and nearby ecosystems. Due to the large number of abandonedtailings that exist in the area, it is unrealistic to assume the expenses and technical difficulties of restoring all of them by methods such as the
Researchers
