Evaluation method of ecological restoration effect in mining areas using soil arthropod community index

Abstract

The present invention discloses an evaluation method for evaluating the ecological restoration effect of a mining area using a soil arthropod community index, comprising the following steps: S1, collecting background information of soil arthropods in a coal mine restoration area and adjacent habitats, and establishing a morphological identification retrieval table; S2, investigating soil arthropods, vegetation and environmental elements in the coal mine restoration area and adjacent habitats, evaluating the indication intensity of the change in the soil arthropod community index on the short-term restoration effect of the mining area, calculating the integrity index using key parameters in the soil arthropod community, and establishing a soil animal community index table; S3, establishing a coal mine restoration area and a control area, collecting soil arthropod samples in the restoration area and the control area, and determining the coal mine restoration effect according to the morphological identification retrieval table and the soil animal community index table. The method of the present invention has low sample collection and investigation workload, simple sample processing, low cost, good evaluation effect, high accuracy and a simple soil animal community index calculation process.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention belongs to the technical field of mining area ecological restoration effect evaluation, and specifically relates to an evaluation method for evaluating mining area ecological restoration effect by utilizing soil arthropod community index. Background Art

[0002] Mountain coal mines are located at high altitudes, with scattered and small mining areas, making ecological restoration difficult and geological conditions poor. They are very prone to secondary disasters such as collapse, landslides and mudslides due to extreme precipitation events. At present, the ecological restoration effect of mountain mining areas is mostly evaluated by indicators such as vegetation coverage, soil fertility, concentration of harmful substances and microbial activity. These indicators are very limited in evaluating the ecological restoration effect of mining areas. Rapid restoration of mining areas using imported soil backfilling and vegetation restoration can quickly improve vegetation coverage and soil fertility, but soil formation and development, deep soil structure stability and biodiversity formation are difficult to measure.

[0003] Soil arthropods are representative animal groups in mountainous areas. They have a short life cycle and strong migration and diffusion capabilities. They have a strong indicative effect on environmental changes and short-term disturbances in restoration areas such as coal mines. Coal mining usually destroys vegetation, surface and deep soil structures. Although it is relatively easy to repair the surface soil and vegetation in mining areas, it is difficult to restore deep soil. In particular, many mining areas level, bury and cover coal tailings, making the foundation of the restoration area unstable and the soil water holding capacity poor, which can easily lead to vegetation degradation, landslides, mudslides and other secondary disasters. Moreover, there is basically no enrichment of harmful substances such as heavy metals during the restoration of coal mine areas. It is mainly the changes in soil physical structure and the evolution of vegetation communities. Therefore, soil animals are ideal indicators for evaluating the ecological restoration effect of mining areas. Therefore, it is very necessary to introduce animal indicators in the evaluation of the ecological restoration effect of coal mines in mountainous areas. Summary of the invention

[0004] The purpose of the present invention is to overcome the shortcomings of the prior art and provide an evaluation method for evaluating the ecological restoration effect of mining areas using the soil animal community index.

[0005] To achieve the above object, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is:

[0006] A method for evaluating the ecological restoration effect of mining areas using soil arthropod community index comprises the following steps:

[0007] S1. Collect background information on soil arthropods in coal mine restoration areas and adjacent habitats, and establish a morphological identification retrieval table;

[0008] S2. Investigate the soil arthropods, vegetation and environmental factors in the coal mine restoration area and adjacent habitats, evaluate the indicator strength of the changes in the soil arthropod community index on the short-term restoration effect of the mining area, calculate the integrity index using key parameters in the soil arthropod community, and establish a soil animal community index table;

[0009] S3. Establish a coal mine restoration area and a control area, collect soil arthropod samples in the restoration area and the control area, calculate the soil arthropod community index according to the morphological identification retrieval table of step S1, and determine the coal mine restoration effect according to the soil arthropod community index combined with the soil animal community index table of step S2.

[0010] Preferably, step S1 specifically comprises the following steps:

[0011] S11. Collect soil arthropod samples, specimens and ecological photos in coal mine restoration areas at different altitude gradients and in adjacent forest and grassland habitats;

[0012] S12. Compile a soil arthropod list based on the collected soil arthropod samples, and establish a morphological identification retrieval table based on the collected specimen photos and ecological photos.

[0013] Preferably, step S2 specifically comprises the following steps:

[0014] S21. Establish coal mine monitoring plots at different altitude gradients, set the coal mine monitoring plots as coal mine restoration areas, and use adjacent habitats at different altitude gradients as control areas. Conduct investigations on soil arthropod communities, vegetation, and environmental factors in coal mine restoration areas and control areas at different altitude gradients.

[0015] S22. Use variance analysis and multivariate analysis to determine the differences in soil arthropod communities, vegetation, and soil environmental elements between the mine restoration area and the control area at different altitude gradients, and evaluate the indicative strength of the changes in the soil arthropod community index on the short-term restoration effect of the mine area;

[0016] S23. According to the indication strength of the change of soil arthropod community index on the short-term restoration effect of the mining area, the key index of soil arthropod community is screened, and the key index of soil arthropod community obtained by screening is the number of individuals and the number of groups. The soil arthropod community integrity index is calculated according to the key index of soil arthropod community-the number of individuals and the number of groups;

[0017] S24. Based on the soil arthropod community integrity index, a soil animal community index table is established to measure the effect of coal mine remediation.

[0018] Preferably, in step S21, the investigation of soil arthropod communities, vegetation and environmental factors is carried out by the following method:

[0019] The vegetation and soil environment of the coal mine restoration area and the control area were investigated using the sampling method. Three vegetation and soil environmental element investigation areas were selected in each coal mine restoration area and the control area respectively. Five 1m×1m herbaceous investigation plots were set up in each vegetation investigation area to measure the number of herbaceous species, herbaceous coverage, herbaceous height and the existing amount of litter. Five 0-10cm soil samples were collected from each soil environment investigation area and brought back to the room to determine the field water holding capacity. After the soil samples were mixed evenly and air-dried, the pH, organic matter and total nitrogen content were measured.

[0020] Preferably, in step S23, the soil arthropod community integrity index is calculated as follows:

[0021] Based on the box plots of the key indexes of each soil arthropod community - the number of individuals and the number of groups - screened out, the median, 25% and 75% quantiles of the number of individuals and groups of large soil arthropods in the coal mine remediation area and the control area were determined, and the soil arthropod community integrity index was calculated according to the integrity index calculation rules.

[0022] Preferably, the integrity index calculation rule is:

[0023] For parameters where the repair area is smaller than the control area, the 75% quantile of the control area is taken as the optimal expected value, and the parameter assignment is: actual value / optimal expected value. For parameters where the repair area is larger than the control area, the 25% quantile of the repair area is taken as the optimal expected value, and the parameter assignment is: (maximum value-actual value) / (maximum value-optimal expected value), and the parameter value is between 0-1.

[0024] Preferably, step S3 specifically comprises the following steps:

[0025] S31. The mining area where the restoration effect needs to be evaluated is designated as the coal mine restoration area, and the adjacent area with less human disturbance is selected as the control area;

[0026] S32. Collect soil arthropod samples from the restoration area and the control area respectively, count the number of individuals and groups of soil arthropods according to the morphological identification retrieval table of step S1, and then calculate the soil arthropod community index. Determine the coal mine restoration effect according to the soil arthropod community index combined with the soil animal community index table of step S2.

[0027] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0028] (1) The evaluation method provided by the present invention has low sample collection and investigation workload. Mountain coal mines are remote and scattered. Using traps to collect soil animal samples in coal mine restoration areas and control areas can save field and indoor workload, saving a lot of manpower, material resources and funds;

[0029] (2) The sample processing method of the present invention is simple and low-cost. The present invention is easy to operate by using morphological identification to determine the family information of adults and larvae of soil animal samples (most soil animals have large morphological differences, and some species such as stone centipedes and blind spiders belong to a single order and a single family, which are easy to identify and count). The sample analysis cost is much lower than the investigation and analysis of soil and vegetation elements, and it saves sample processing time, so that survey data can be obtained quickly;

[0030] (3) The evaluation effect of the present invention is good and accurate. The evaluation method of the present invention selects two key indicators, the number of individuals and the number of groups, which accurately reflect the changes in soil animal communities. These two indexes can accurately reflect the changes in soil animal communities. Therefore, it is more accurate and effective to use the number of large soil animal individuals and the number of groups to calculate the integrity index to evaluate the ecological restoration effect of coal mine restoration areas;

[0031] (4) The calculation process of the soil animal community index in the present invention is simple. The community index is calculated using only the number of soil animal individuals and groups, thus avoiding the impact of the sudden change in the number of some species due to seasonal changes on the evaluation effect of mining area ecological restoration. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0032] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of collecting soil arthropod samples in the coal mine restoration area and the control area in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0033] Figure 2 The RDA ordination diagram of the influence of vegetation and soil environment changes on the distribution of soil arthropods in three typical coal mines in the embodiment of the present invention;

[0034] Figure 3 Comparison chart of soil arthropod communities, vegetation and soil index in three typical coal mine restoration areas and a control area. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0035] The exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Although the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are shown in the accompanying drawings, it should be understood that the present disclosure can be implemented in various forms and should not be limited by the embodiments set forth herein. On the contrary, these embodiments are provided to enable a more thorough understanding of the present disclosure and to fully convey the scope of the present disclosure to those skilled in the art.

[0036] The embodiment of the present invention provides an evaluation method for evaluating the ecological restoration effect of a mining area by using a soil arthropod community index, which specifically includes the following steps:

[0037] S1. Collect background information of soil arthropods in the coal mine restoration area and adjacent habitats, and establish a morphological identification retrieval table, which specifically includes the following steps:

[0038] S11. Collect soil arthropod samples, specimens and ecological photos in coal mine restoration areas at different altitude gradients and in adjacent forest and grassland habitats; large soil animal samples are collected using trap collectors (funnel-shaped collectors). Specifically, use the trap collector burying tool to select a relatively flat location in the sampling area to dig a circular hole on the surface. The diameter and depth of the circular hole are slightly larger than the diameter and height of the trap collector. Put the trap collector in, and the upper edge of the collector is flush with the surface. After the trap collector is buried, add preservation liquid. The preservation liquid uses Pasteur attractant (the weight ratio of vinegar, sugar, alcohol and water is 2:1:1:20) to collect soil animal samples. Put a metal mesh with a 2mm mesh on the top of the collector to prevent soil and litter from falling into the trap collector and blocking the bottle mouth. The metal mesh can also prevent livestock and large animals from trampling and damaging the collector. The sample collection time is 7 days. Remove the litter and soil from the collected animal samples and put them into sampling bottles. Add 75% alcohol solution for preservation and bring them back to the laboratory for morphological identification and statistical quantity under a microscope. The large soil animal samples were collected using a nested design. The results of estimating the species richness of large soil animals using a rarefaction curve based on the number of individuals showed that 15-20 traps could obtain sufficient information on the composition of soil animal communities in the coal mine restoration area and the control area. The sample collection time was selected in July and August when the plant and animal diversity was the highest. Figure 1 As shown;

[0039] S12. Compile a soil arthropod list based on the collected soil arthropod samples, and establish a morphological identification key table in combination with the collected specimen photos and ecological photos; observe the collected soil animal samples under a magnifying glass and microscope to determine the order and family information, take photos and compile a morphological identification key table for the family and order of soil animal adults and larvae in the coal mine restoration area and the control area;

[0040] S2. Investigate the soil arthropods, vegetation and environmental factors in the coal mine restoration area and adjacent habitats, evaluate the indication strength of the change of soil arthropod community index on the short-term restoration effect of the mining area, calculate the integrity index using key parameters of the soil arthropod community, and establish a soil animal community index table. The specific steps include the following:

[0041] S21. Different altitude gradients will affect the intensity of human disturbance in coal mine restoration areas and the process of vegetation and soil ecological restoration in mining areas. Therefore, it is necessary to select representative mining areas for evaluation based on the restoration measures, intensity, time and altitude of the coal mine restoration areas, establish coal mine monitoring plots with different altitude gradients, set the coal mine monitoring plots as coal mine restoration areas, and use the adjacent habitats with different altitude gradients as control areas. The soil arthropod communities, vegetation and environmental elements of coal mine restoration areas and control areas with different altitude gradients are investigated respectively. The specific investigation of soil arthropod communities, vegetation and environmental elements is carried out using the following methods:

[0042] The vegetation and soil environment of the coal mine restoration area and the control area were investigated by sampling method. Three vegetation and soil environmental element investigation areas were selected in each coal mine restoration area and control area respectively. Five 1m×1m herb survey plots were set up in each vegetation investigation area to measure the number of herb species, herb cover, herb height and the amount of litter. Five 0-10cm soil samples were collected from each soil environment investigation area and brought back to the room to determine the field water holding capacity. The soil samples were mixed evenly and air-dried before measuring pH, organic matter and total nitrogen content.

[0043] S22. Use variance analysis and multivariate analysis to determine the differences in soil arthropod communities, vegetation and soil environmental elements between the mine restoration area and the control area at different altitude gradients, and evaluate the indication strength of the change of soil arthropod community index on the short-term restoration effect of the mine area; multivariate analysis of soil arthropod communities and vegetation and soil environmental indicators that can reflect the restoration effect of the mine area can be measured, and the indication strength of these community parameters on community changes can be determined through correlation analysis between community parameters such as the number of soil arthropod individuals and groups and the ordination axis;

[0044] S23. According to the indication intensity of the change of soil arthropod community index on the short-term restoration effect of the mining area, the key index of soil arthropod community is screened. The key index of soil arthropod community screened is the number of individuals and the number of groups. The soil arthropod community integrity index is calculated according to the key index of soil arthropod community-the number of individuals and the number of groups. The specific calculation method of soil arthropod community integrity index is as follows:

[0045] According to the box plots of the key indexes of each soil arthropod community screened out - the number of individuals and the number of groups, the median, 25% and 75% quantiles of the number of individuals (the number of animals collected by each collector) and the number of groups (the number of animal families or orders collected by each collector, and the adults and larvae were counted separately) of large arthropods in the coal mine restoration area and the control area were obtained. For parameters that decreased with the increase of disturbance, the 75% quantile was taken as the best expected value (the value under no disturbance or very little disturbance), and the parameter assignment was: actual value / best expected value; for parameters that increased with the increase of disturbance, the 25% quantile was taken as the best expected value, and the parameter assignment was: (maximum value-actual value) / (maximum value-best expected value), and the parameter value was between 0-1. The soil arthropod community integrity index was calculated, and the calculation method of vegetation and soil indices was consistent with that of soil animals. Multivariate analysis was used to determine the relationship between soil animal community changes and vegetation and soil environmental factors, and Pearson correlation was used to determine the relationship between soil animals, vegetation and soil indices.

[0046] S24. Based on the soil arthropod community integrity index, a soil animal community index table for measuring the effect of coal mine restoration was established. The soil animal community index values ​​of all coal mine restoration areas and control areas were graded using the four-point method. The number of soil arthropod surveys in coal mine restoration areas and control areas was increased, which can more accurately divide the soil animal community index table reflecting the habitat health and the degree of mine restoration and recovery.

[0047] S3, establish a coal mine restoration area assessment plot and a control area, collect soil arthropod samples in the restoration area and the control area, calculate the soil arthropod community index according to the morphological identification retrieval table of step S1, and determine the coal mine restoration effect according to the soil arthropod community index combined with the soil animal community index table of step S2, which specifically includes the following steps:

[0048] S31. The mining area where the restoration effect needs to be evaluated is designated as the coal mine restoration area, and the adjacent area with less human disturbance is selected as the control area;

[0049] S32. Collect soil arthropod samples from the restoration area and the control area respectively, count the number of individuals and groups of soil arthropods according to the morphological identification retrieval table of step S1, and then calculate the soil arthropod community index. Determine the coal mine restoration effect according to the soil arthropod community index combined with the soil animal community index table of step S2.

[0050] Case Studies

[0051] 1. Collection of soil arthropod samples and environmental survey in coal mine restoration and control areas

[0052] The embodiment of the present invention selects the middle section of Qilian Mountain National Park where coal mines are concentrated and mining is dispersed as the study area, and establishes three typical coal mine restoration areas with strong grazing disturbance at low altitude, low grazing disturbance at low altitude, and low grazing disturbance at high altitude as soil arthropod monitoring plots. At the same time, natural habitats with less human disturbance are selected in each mining area as control plots. Soil arthropod samples in coal mine restoration areas and control areas with different altitude gradients and ecological restoration modes are collected through trap collectors, the information of soil arthropod orders or families is determined, specimens are photographed, and soil arthropod classification or order morphological identification retrieval tables are compiled. Large soil arthropod samples are collected using an improved trap collector (funnel-type collector), and the preservation liquid uses Pasteur attractant (the weight ratio of vinegar, sugar, alcohol and water is 2:1:1:20), and the sample collection time is 7 days. The large soil arthropod samples were collected using a nested design. The results of the estimation of the species richness of large soil arthropods using a rarefaction curve based on the number of individuals showed that 15 traps could obtain sufficient soil arthropod community composition information in the coal mine restoration area and the control area. The sample collection time was selected in July and August when the plant and animal diversity was the highest. The collected soil arthropod samples were used to determine the family or information under a magnifying glass and microscope, and photos were taken to compile a classification retrieval atlas of the family and order of soil arthropod adults and larvae in the coal mine restoration area and the control area. At the same time, the sampling method was used to investigate the changes in vegetation and soil environmental elements in the coal mine restoration area and the control area. The vegetation and soil environment of the coal mine restoration area and the control area were investigated using the sampling method. Three vegetation and soil environmental element investigation areas were selected in each coal mine restoration area and the control area, and five 1m×1m herb survey plots were set up in each vegetation investigation area to measure the number of herb species, herb cover, herb height and the existing amount of litter. Five 0-10cm soil samples were collected from each survey area and brought back to the room to determine the field water holding capacity. The soil samples were mixed evenly and air-dried to measure the pH, organic matter and total nitrogen content. The vegetation and soil environment in the coal mine restoration area and the control area were investigated using the sampling method. Three vegetation and soil environmental element investigation areas were selected in each coal mine restoration area and the control area, and five 1m×1m herb survey plots were set up in each vegetation investigation area to measure the number of herbaceous species, herbaceous coverage, herbaceous height and the amount of litter. Five 0-10cm soil samples were collected from each investigation area and brought back to the room to determine the field water holding capacity. The soil samples were mixed evenly and air-dried to measure the pH, organic matter and total nitrogen content.

[0053] 2. Screening and effect evaluation of soil arthropod community structure parameters in coal mine restoration and control areas

[0054] The RDA ordination results of vegetation, soil environmental factors and soil arthropod distribution in three typical coal mine restoration areas and control areas are as follows: Figure 2 As shown, through Figure 2The results showed that the first ordination axis and all ordination axis test results were significant (F=4.5, P=0.034; F=2.4, P=0.003), which also showed that the ordination results well reflected the influence of vegetation and soil environment on the distribution of soil arthropods. The eight vegetation and soil environmental factors explained 39.1% of the variation of soil arthropod communities. The results of variable partitioning showed that vegetation explained 10.7% of the variation of soil arthropod communities in the three coal mine restoration areas and the control area, soil explained 35.5% of the variation of soil arthropod communities, and the interaction between vegetation and soil explained -7.1% of the variation of soil arthropod communities. The results of pRDA analysis showed that pH, number of herbaceous species, herbaceous height and total nitrogen content were the main factors affecting the distribution of soil arthropods in the coal mine restoration area and the control area, and they explained 30.2% of the variation of soil arthropod communities. The composition of soil arthropod communities in high-altitude grazing ban areas is significantly different from that in low-altitude and high-altitude grazing areas. There are also certain differences in soil arthropod communities in low-altitude and high-altitude grazing areas. The composition of soil arthropod communities in coal mine restoration areas and control areas in different habitats is different. Herb height, coverage, soil pH and nutrient content are important influencing factors. It can be seen that changes in vegetation and soil environment in coal mine restoration areas and control areas have strongly affected the distribution of soil arthropod communities, and changes in soil arthropod community composition can well reflect the changes in vegetation and soil environment in coal mine restoration areas. The PCoA ordination axes 1 and 2 of soil arthropods in the three coal mine restoration areas and the control area explained 87.7% of the variation in soil arthropod communities. The number of soil arthropod individuals and groups was highly correlated with the PCoA ordination axis 1 (r=0.45, P=0.064; r=0.26, P=297) and axis 2 (r=0.75, P<0.001; r=0.26, P=302). These two measured indicators can be used to represent changes in the soil arthropod community structure.

[0055] 3. Indicative effect of soil arthropod community integrity index in coal mine restoration area and control area

[0056] like Figure 3As shown in the figure, the community indexes calculated based on the number of soil arthropod individuals and groups in the three coal mine restoration areas in the embodiment of the present invention are all lower than those in the control area, which is consistent with the trend of vegetation and soil integrity index changes. This also shows that the disturbed coal mine habitat can be quickly restored by backfilling with imported soil and planting grass, but the stability and integrity of the habitat are still different from those in the control area. The coal mine restoration area needs to promote vegetation restoration and succession based on slope enhancement stability, enriching vegetation diversity and increasing the proportion of woody plants. The soil arthropod index is significantly positively correlated with both the vegetation and soil indexes (r=0.96, P<0.05; r=0.81, P<0.05), which also shows that the soil arthropod community index better reflects the differences in vegetation and soil environment between the coal mine restoration area and the control area. In addition, the present study also found that the ratio of the soil arthropod community index of the coal mine restoration area in the low-altitude and high-altitude grazing areas to the control area was lower than that of the high-altitude grazing ban area, which also shows that grazing disturbance has an impact on coal mine restoration, and long-term enclosure and grazing ban coal mine restoration areas also need moderate intervention to enhance soil health. The Sorenson similarity index of the soil arthropod community in the three coal mine restoration areas and the control area is higher in the high-altitude grazing ban area (0.46) than in the grazing (0.33) and low-altitude grazing area (0.33), which also shows that the altitude and grazing disturbance have changed the composition of the soil animal arthropod community in the coal mine restoration area and the control area, but the number of soil animals and groups in the coal mine restoration area are higher than those in the control area, indicating that soil arthropods are more sensitive to disturbances in coal mine ecological restoration. In the low-altitude grazing coal mine restoration area and the control area, hard-bodied Opiliidae, Formicidae, Acrididae and Carabidae were the main groups. The coal mine restoration area significantly increased the number of Carabidae and reduced the number of hard-bodied Opiliidae. The reduced vegetation cover and soil disturbance in the enclosed restoration area were conducive to the predation of Carabidae insects. In the high-altitude grazing restoration area and the control area, Carabidae, Lycosidae and Formicidae were the main groups. The enclosed coal mine restoration area reduced the number of predatory insects such as lycosidae and carabids. In the high-altitude grazing ban restoration area and the control area, Lycosidae, Carabidae and Formicidae were the main groups. The enclosed restoration area reduced the number of Lycosidae and Formicidae and increased the number of Carabidae. The above results show that different altitudes and grazing intensities affect the composition of soil animal communities. The main soil arthropod groups have different response patterns to coal mine restoration and grazing disturbances, but the community composition and structure show that there is still a gap between the soil arthropods in the coal mine restoration area and the control area. The change in the proportion of predatory soil arthropods such as Lycosa and Carabidae affects the diversity of soil arthropods and their ecological functions. Topsoil restoration and herbaceous planting in mining areas can quickly improve soil quality and vegetation coverage. Changes in these environmental factors have a greater impact on surface-dwelling groups with strong migration and diffusion capabilities, but have less impact on soil-dwelling groups; the recovery process of insect larvae and some adults, mites and springtails takes a long time, and it takes even longer to improve the community structure of soil arthropods and soil multifunctionality.

[0057] The field survey and collection method of soil arthropods is simple and easy to operate, which saves time and effort compared with soil and vegetation environmental surveys. The number of individuals and groups is counted at the order and family levels, and classification and identification takes less time, saving sample processing time; the calculation process of the soil arthropod integrity index is simple and effective by selecting the number of individuals and groups in the soil arthropod community with reference to the integrity index statistical method. Therefore, the present invention proposes an evaluation method for evaluating the ecological restoration effect of coal mine restoration areas using the soil arthropod community index based on the statistical analysis of soil arthropod data in typical coal mine restoration areas and control areas. By comparing the restoration degree of the soil arthropod index in the coal mine restoration area and the adjacent control area, soil arthropods can reflect the changes in the quality of habitats such as vegetation and soil, and can also evaluate soil health changes. The number of individuals and groups in the soil arthropod community is more effective than the number of dominant groups or species in evaluating coal mine restoration areas, which avoids the inability to be applied on a large scale due to the distribution restrictions of soil arthropods; the classification information can be quickly determined by referring to the ecological atlas and the retrieval atlas to save sample processing time. The community index (completeness index) calculated using the number of individuals and groups in the soil arthropod community takes into account both the individual quantity index (an indicator used to measure the size of biomass) and the group number index (an indicator used to measure the community composition and structural changes). They can more comprehensively reflect the response of the soil arthropod community structure to environmental changes, and it is more accurate in evaluating the ecological restoration effect of mining areas.

[0058] 4. Coal mine restoration area effect evaluation index

[0059] The soil arthropod community index values ​​of the three coal mine restoration areas and the control area were graded using the four-point method. The classification results are shown in Table 1. Increasing the investigation of soil arthropod communities in typical coal mine restoration areas in mountainous areas and adjacent habitats can more accurately divide the soil arthropod community index table that reflects the health of the habitat and the degree of restoration and recovery of the mine area.

[0060] Table 1 Evaluation standard of soil arthropod community index

[0061]

[0062] 5. Evaluation of the effect and degree of ecological restoration in coal mine restoration areas

[0063] Select the coal mine restoration area that needs to be evaluated, collect soil animal samples from the coal mine restoration area and the control area, divide them into families and orders according to the classification and morphological identification retrieval table, count the number of soil animal individuals and groups, calculate the soil animal community index of the coal mine restoration area and the control area, compare the difference in soil animal community index between the coal mine restoration area and the control area with the soil animal community index evaluation table, evaluate the effect and degree of ecological restoration in the coal mine restoration area, take reasonable and scientific measures to intervene and manage, and maintain the ecological stability of the coal mine restoration area.

[0064] In summary, the evaluation method provided by the embodiment of the present invention has a low workload for sample collection and investigation, and the sample processing method is simple and low-cost. In addition, the evaluation method selects two key indicators, the number of individuals and the number of groups, which accurately reflect the changes in soil arthropod communities. These two indexes can accurately reflect the changes in soil arthropod communities. The changes in the composition of soil arthropod communities in mountainous coal mine restoration areas and control areas are consistent with the changes in soil and vegetation elements, and they can explain nearly 40% of the variation in soil arthropod communities. Therefore, it is more accurate and effective to calculate the community index using the number of soil arthropod individuals and the number of groups to evaluate the ecological restoration effect of coal mine restoration areas. In addition, the calculation process of the soil arthropod community index is simple. Only the number of soil arthropod individuals and the number of groups are used to calculate the community index, which avoids the impact of seasonal changes on the evaluation effect of ecological restoration in mining areas due to drastic changes in the number of some species.

[0065] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various changes, modifications, substitutions and variations may be made to the embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the present invention, and that the scope of the present invention is defined by the claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A method for evaluating the ecological restoration effect of mining areas using soil arthropod community index, characterized in that: The following steps are involved: S1. Collect background information on soil arthropods in coal mine restoration areas and adjacent habitats, and establish a morphological identification retrieval table; S2. Investigate the soil arthropods, vegetation and environmental factors in the coal mine restoration area and adjacent habitats, evaluate the indicator strength of the changes in the soil arthropod community index on the short-term restoration effect of the mining area, calculate the integrity index using key parameters in the soil arthropod community, and establish a soil animal community index table; Step S2 specifically includes the following steps: S21. Establish coal mine monitoring plots at different altitude gradients, set the coal mine monitoring plots as coal mine restoration areas, and use adjacent habitats at different altitude gradients as control areas. Conduct investigations on soil arthropod communities, vegetation, and environmental factors in coal mine restoration areas and control areas at different altitude gradients. S22. Use variance analysis and multivariate analysis to determine the differences in soil arthropod communities, vegetation, and soil environmental elements between the mine restoration area and the control area at different altitude gradients, and evaluate the indicative strength of the changes in the soil arthropod community index on the short-term restoration effect of the mine area; S23. According to the indication strength of the change of soil arthropod community index on the short-term restoration effect of the mining area, the key index of soil arthropod community is screened, and the key index of soil arthropod community obtained by screening is the number of individuals and the number of groups. The soil arthropod community integrity index is calculated according to the key index of soil arthropod community-the number of individuals and the number of groups; S24. Establish a soil animal community index table for measuring the effect of coal mine restoration based on the soil arthropod community integrity index; S3. Establish a coal mine restoration area and a control area, collect soil arthropod samples in the restoration area and the control area, calculate the soil arthropod community index according to the morphological identification retrieval table of step S1, and determine the coal mine restoration effect according to the soil arthropod community index combined with the soil animal community index table of step S2.

2. The method for evaluating the ecological restoration effect of mining areas using soil arthropod community index according to claim 1 is characterized in that: Step S1 specifically includes the following steps: S11. Collect soil arthropod samples, specimens and ecological photos in coal mine restoration areas at different altitude gradients and in adjacent forest and grassland habitats; S12. Compile a soil arthropod list based on the collected soil arthropod samples, and establish a morphological identification retrieval table based on the collected specimen photos and ecological photos.

3. The method for evaluating the ecological restoration effect of mining areas using soil arthropod community index according to claim 1, characterized in that: In step S21, the investigation of soil arthropod communities, vegetation and environmental factors is carried out using the following method: The vegetation and soil environment of the coal mine restoration area and the control area were investigated using the sampling method. Three vegetation and soil environmental element investigation areas were selected in each coal mine restoration area and the control area respectively. Five 1m×1m herbaceous investigation plots were set up in each vegetation investigation area to measure the number of herbaceous species, herbaceous coverage, herbaceous height and the existing amount of litter. Five 0-10cm soil samples were collected from each soil environment investigation area and brought back to the room to determine the field water holding capacity. After the soil samples were mixed evenly and air-dried, the pH, organic matter and total nitrogen content were measured.

4. The method for evaluating the ecological restoration effect of mining areas using soil arthropod community index according to claim 1, characterized in that: In step S23, the soil arthropod community integrity index is calculated as follows: Based on the box plots of the key indexes of each soil arthropod community - the number of individuals and the number of groups - the median, 25% and 75% quantiles of the number of individuals and groups of large soil arthropods in the coal mine remediation area and the control area were determined, and the soil arthropod community integrity index was calculated according to the integrity index calculation rules.

5. The method for evaluating the ecological restoration effect of mining areas using soil arthropod community index according to claim 4 is characterized in that: The calculation rule of the integrity index is: For parameters where the repair area is smaller than the control area, the 75% quantile of the control area is taken as the optimal expected value, and the parameter assignment is: actual value / optimal expected value. For parameters where the repair area is larger than the control area, the 25% quantile of the repair area is taken as the optimal expected value, and the parameter assignment is: (maximum value-actual value) / (maximum value-optimal expected value). The parameter value is between 0 and 1.

6. The method for evaluating the ecological restoration effect of mining areas using soil arthropod community index according to claim 1, characterized in that: Step S3 specifically includes the following steps: S31. The mining area where the restoration effect needs to be evaluated is designated as the coal mine restoration area, and the adjacent area with less human disturbance is selected as the control area; S32. Collect soil arthropod samples from the restoration area and the control area respectively, count the number of individuals and groups of soil arthropods according to the morphological identification retrieval table of step S1, and then calculate the soil arthropod community index. Determine the coal mine restoration effect according to the soil arthropod community index combined with the soil animal community index table of step S2.

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