STUDY OF THE EVOLUTION OF MINE COLLAPSE ZONES AND THEIR EFFECT ON VEGETATION COVER USING REMOTE SENSING TECHNIQUES
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32782/3041-2080/2026-7-3Keywords:
subsidence zone, remote sensing, NDVI, land degradation, vegetation coverAbstract
The study is aimed at investigating the spatio-temporal evolution of a subsidence zone at an iron ore mine and providing a quantitative assessment of its long-term destructive impact on the vegetation cover of adjacent territories. The methodology is based on a spatio-temporal analysis of remote sensing data for the period 1941–2025, including the processing of historical aerial photographs as well as modern satellite imagery from Landsat and Sentinel-2 missions. To evaluate the condition of phytocoenoses within buffer zones of 0–50 and 50–100 m, as well as at a control site, the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) was calculated. It was established that the expansion of the subsidence area from 7.8 to 38.5 ha is reliably described by a logarithmic relationship and can be clearly divided into two phases: an active phase until 1990 and a subsequent attenuation stage. The presence of a pronounced spatial gradient of vegetation degradation has been demonstrated: within the nearest buffer zone (0–50 m), the proportion of dense vegetation cover is only 8.8%, while the mean NDVI values over the past decade exhibit a persistent negative trend. It has been determined that during the attenuation phase of geomechanical processes, the spatial development of the subsidence zone does not cease but continues in the form of a cumulative effect, thereby imposing sustained stress on the vegetation cover of surrounding areas. It is recommended to shift from low-efficiency practices of backfilling subsidence zones with waste rock toward the implementation of monolithic paste backfilling technologies based on iron ore beneficiation tailings, ensuring reliable stabilization of ground movement processes and effective reclamation of disturbed lands
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