The Biogeophysical Effects of Revegetation around Mining Areas: A Case Study of Dongsheng Mining Areas in Inner Mongolia

The biogeophysical effects of land cover change (LCC) on land surface temperature are largely understood, especially in tropical and boreal zones, but fewer studies have reported the biogeophysical consequences of ecological restoration of mining areas located in arid and semi-arid temperate zones. In this study, we employed 2000-2015 satellite-based net radiation (Rn) and latent heat flux (LE) data from mining areas (taking Dongsheng in Inner Mongolia as an example) and adjacent ecological restoration areas to understand the biogeophysical effect of revegetation around mining areas. The results showed that revegetation increased Rn (0.25 ± 0.17 W/m2) and LE (0.43 ± 0.26 W/m2). The warming effect of increased Rn (ΔRn), however, was completely offset by the cooling effect of increased LE (ΔLE), thus revegetation caused an overall cooling effect of −0.18 ± 0.17 W/m2. Land surface temperature (LST) from mining areas and adjacent ecological restoration areas also showed that revegetation decreased LST (ΔLST being −0.2 ± 0.1 K). The difference of ΔRn and ΔLE explained 27% of the ΔLST variations. These findings reinforce our understanding for the potential climatic benefits of the ecological restoration around mining areas in arid and semi-arid temperate zones.