Assessment of the impact of mining activities on the environment of arctic north taiga landscapes

The expansion of the mining industry in the northern regions is accompanied by an increase in the technological impact on the fragile Arctic regions of Russia, and cryolithozone ecosystems are especially vulnerable. Open mining is carried out in the basins of small rivers of the North, where river beds change, the adjacent territory is polluted, the soil and vegetation layer is destroyed, quarries and dumps are formed. Environmentalists to develop measures that reduce the negative effects on frozen ecosystems should study these processes. In this aspect, the results of studies on the characteristics of northern soils in their natural state, before transformation and contamination with heavy metals in mining operations for environmental monitoring of changes are proposed. For the first time, the types and subtypes of northern permafrost soils are indicated here — cryozems that have not been sufficiently studied to date, and which may disappear during mining operations. These data can serve as a basis for comparative analysis of the anthropogenic effects on Arctic ecosystems in monitoring studies. Knowledge of the properties and features of the zonal soils of the northern territories and their ecological permafrost conditions will allow in the future restoring disturbed lands and effectively carrying out reclamation activities in the Arctic regions.

Pesterev A. P. Assessment of the impact of mining activities on the environment of arctic north taiga landscapes. MIAB. Mining Inf. Anal. Bull. 2022;(5—2):187—197. [In Russ]. DOI: 10.25018/0236_1493_2022_52_0_187.

Pesterev A. P., Cand. Sci. (Biology), Associate Professor of Geoecology, https://orcid. org/0000-0002-9162-0090, Associate Professor of the Department of Technosphere Safety of the Mining Institute of Northeastern Federal University named after M. K. Ammosova,(NEFU), 50 Kulakovskys st. Yakutsk, Sakha Republic (Yakutia) 677000, Russia, e-mail: pesterev.a@mail.ru.

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