Ecological research on mountaintop mining has been focused on aquatic impacts because the overburden (i.e., the mountaintop) is disposed of in nearby valleys, which leads to a wide range of water-quality impacts on streams. There are also numerous impacts on the terrestrial environment from mountaintop mining that have been largely overlooked, even though they are no less wide ranging, severe, and multifaceted. We review the impacts of mountaintop mining on the terrestrial environment by exploring six broad themes: (1) the loss of topographic complexity, (2) forest loss and fragmentation, (3) forest succession and soil loss, (4) forest loss and carbon sequestration, (5) biodiversity, and (6) human health and well-being.
How to translate text using browser tools
1 May 2013
The Overlooked Terrestrial Impacts of Mountaintop Mining
James Wickham,
Petra Bohall Wood,
Matthew C. Nicholson,
William Jenkins,
Daniel Druckenbrod,
Glenn W. Suter,
Michael P. Strager,
Christine Mazzarella,
Walter Galloway,
John Amos
ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE
It is not available for individual sale.
This article is only available to subscribers.
It is not available for individual sale.
It is not available for individual sale.
BioScience
Vol. 63 • No. 5
May 2013
Vol. 63 • No. 5
May 2013
conservation
disturbance ecology
endangered species
fragmented ecosystems
land-use management
