期刊名称：Advances in Environmental Sciences - International Journal of the Bioflux Society
印刷版ISSN：2066-7620
电子版ISSN：2065-7647
出版年度：2019
卷号：11
期号：3
页码：1-8
出版社：Bioflux
摘要：Surface mining to extract nickel ore disturbs the soil and vegetation. This activity removes the
topsoil and vegetation, which accelerates soil erosion during the rainy season affecting the freshwater
and marine water bodies nearby. Conserving a forest strip to act as a buffer for soil erosion and filter
contaminants is a natural way to mitigate the impacts of mining on interconnected ecosystems. The
introduction of an ‘ecobelt' was done in the nickel mines in Surigao. It is an agro-forest strip designed to
provide a corridor for biodiversity to stay and repopulate the degraded areas. Soil erosion and the
survival of trees were monitored to assess the effect of the ecobelt. Results revealed that the four tree
species having high percentage survival and excellent growth performance in nickel areas were: ipil-ipil
(Leucaena leucocephala Linn.), narra (Pterocarpus indicus Linn.), mansanitas (Muntingia calabura Linn.)
and calumpit (Terminalia macrocarpa Steud.). The nurse trees: L. leucocephala, M. calabura, and S.
saman have high littering capacities that contribute to the organic matter content of the soil. The soil
erosion monitoring results indicated a weak correlation between rainfall and the monthly change in soil
height both in the Taganito Mining Corporation (TMC) and Hinatuan Mining Corporation (HMC) ecobelt
areas. These results indicate that a higher rainfall amount does not necessarily result in more significant
soil erosion.
