EFFECTS OF ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION PATTERNS IN AN ABANDONED COAL MINE OF SOUTHERN CHINA

Evaluating the ecological economic benefits of different ecological restoration patterns in abandoned mines is important in ecological restoration study. Taking the abandoned coal mine in Luoshi Township of Fengcheng county, Jiangxi province, as a case, 4 different ecological restoration patterns (grapefruit with grass vegetation - Pattern I, pine with grass vegetation - Pattern II, grapefruit - Pattern III, and bare slope - Pattern IV) have been conducted to study the runoff and sediment yield under natural rainfall conditions. The results showed that the ecological restoration patterns and rainfall intensity can significantly affect runoff and sediment yield which increased as rainfall intensity increased: Pattern IV > Pattern III > Pattern II > Pattern I. For the optimal ecological restoration with Pattern I, the average runoff and sediment reduction was 59.01 and 77.1%, respectively, in all rainfall intensities. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) showed that runoff and sediment were significantly affected by ecological restoration pattern and rainfall intensity (P < 0.05). Correlation analysis of runoff and sediment yields indicated that the reduction effect on sediment yield increased with the decrease of runoff, and the relationships between runoff and sediment at different ecological restoration patterns could be fitted with a linear function. Moreover, the vegetation configuration that combines fruit farming with grass can be not only beneficial to control soil and water conservation but produce considerable economic and ecological benefits.