Rural landscape assessment in the mining affected area: A case study in Shandong Province, China

Underground mining activities cause land subsidence and lead to severe problems. Especially in the rural areas, landscapes were highly impacted by mining activities, and the lives of the residents changed to large extent. Landscape planning is an essential way to relieve the mining impact; therefore, as the basis of landscape planning, a precise assessment is of great importance. Taking a mine site in Shandong Province, China as an example, this paper assessed the landscape in consideration of the mining impact, including the assessment on the productive function, ecological function and aesthetic function. The final assessment value of the research area after the mining effect is 56.94 with limited landscape function. Specifically, the result of productive function is 46.34, ecological function 65.27 and aesthetic function 70.36. The results indicate the landscape situation after mining activity, which could be a reference for the land reclamation planning and design.