Land Degradation Pathways of Open‐Pit and Underground Mining in Karst Regions: A Spatial Indicator Assessment

ABSTRACT

Mining in the karst regions of southwest China threatens ecosystem stability and accelerates land degradation. Regional evaluation rarely distinguishes between degradation pathways in open‐pit and underground operations, due to spatial heterogeneity and geomorphological confounding effects. Using land use/land cover data from the China Land Cover Dataset (CLCD) for 2010, 2015, 2020 and 2025, we examined 4318 mines in Guizhou with a multiscale (0–4 km) distance‐decay model that applies local topological constraints to separate mining footprint changes from background landscape changes. We found that these two types of mining represent two distinct spatial disturbance regimes. For open‐pit operations, localized physical degradation was pronounced, with surficial stripping expansion peaking at a 2.0‐km radius and maintaining a sustained degradation footprint. Underground mining displayed a diffuse spatial signature. Rather than a sharp distance‐decay gradient, surrounding forest cover showed a uniform decline of 18.0 percentage points below the control baseline across the 4.0‐km study area. This non‐gradient degradation pattern implies a landscape‐scale response to alterations in subsurface hydrology rather than direct surface disturbances. These results emphasize the inadequacy of uniform buffer zones for managing regional environmental impacts. We recommend a 2.0‐km core management zone for prioritizing open‐pit mine rehabilitation, while addressing the impacts of underground mining requires transitioning from static spatial boundaries to broader landscape‐level hydro‐ecological management.