Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 26, 2026
08:16
Collecting and Processing Drone-based Remotely Sensed Data for Use in Forest Recovery Monitoring
Published on: October 24, 2025
Global mining has undermined forest conservation within and beyond protected areas.
He Ren1, Yihua Hu2, Tingting He3,4,5
1Academy of Eco-Civilization Development for Jing-Jin-Ji Megalopolis, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, PR China.
Nature Communications
|June 24, 2026
Summary
Mining is increasingly damaging forests within protected areas, with impacts extending to surrounding zones. Urgent mitigation is needed to protect these vital forest ecosystems.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Science
- Forest Ecology
- Conservation Biology
Background:
- Protected areas are crucial for global forest conservation.
- Increasing mineral demand is intensifying mining pressure on these areas.
- Mining activities pose a significant threat to forest ecosystems worldwide.
Purpose of the Study:
- To globally assess mining-induced forest loss within and beyond protected areas from 2001 to 2020.
- To quantify the extent and trends of forest loss attributed to mining in protected areas.
- To evaluate the spillover effects of mining on surrounding forest buffer zones.
Main Methods:
- Utilized satellite imagery and geospatial analysis to map mining-induced forest loss.
- Analyzed data from 2001 to 2020 to identify trends and patterns.
- Quantified forest loss within protected areas and adjacent 10-km buffer zones.
Main Results:
- Approximately 11% of global mining-induced forest loss occurred within protected areas between 2001-2020, rising to 19% in 2016-2020.
- Over 27% of mines causing forest loss in protected areas were active throughout the study period.
- Forest loss in surrounding 10-km buffer zones was nearly three times greater than within protected areas.
- Mining impacts are increasingly affecting high-biomass-density forests over time.
Conclusions:
- Mining pressure on protected forests is escalating.
- Mitigation strategies must address mining impacts both inside and outside protected area boundaries.
- Conservation efforts need to account for the expanding footprint of mining activities.
Related Concept Videos
01:50Threats to Biodiversity
There have been five major extinction events throughout geological history, resulting in the elimination of biodiversity, followed by a rebound of species that adapted to the new conditions. In the current geological epoch, the Holocene, there is a sixth extinction event in progress. This mass extinction has been attributed to human activities and is thus provisionally called the Anthropocene. In 2019 the human population reached 7.7 billion people and is projected to comprise 10 billion by...
01:57What is Conservation Biology?
Conservation biology is a scientific field that focuses on the preservation of biodiversity in order to protect ecosystems while meeting the needs of the human population. Humans require properly functioning ecosystems to maintain our supply of natural resources, including food, medicines, and building materials.
02:31Habitat Fragmentation
Habitat fragmentation describes the division of a more extensive, continuous habitat into smaller, discontinuous areas. Human activities such as land conversion, as well as slower geological processes leading to changes in the physical environment, are the two leading causes of habitat fragmentation. The fragmentation process typically follows the same steps: perforation, dissection, fragmentation, shrinkage, and attrition.
02:07Conservation of Declining Populations
Conservation of declining population focuses on ways of detecting, diagnosing, and halting a population decline. The approach uses methods to prevent populations from going extinct.
02:04Conservation of Small Populations
Small population sizes put a species at extreme risk of extinction due to a lack of variation, and a consequent decrease in adaptability. This weakens the chances of survival under pressures such as climate change, competition from other species, or new diseases. Large populations are more likely to survive pressures such as these, as such populations are more likely to harbor individuals that have genetic variants that are adaptive under new stresses. Small populations are much less likely to...
01:19Acid Mine Drainage
Mining activities that disturb sulfide-rich rocks, particularly those containing pyrite (FeS₂), initiate a cascade of geochemical and microbiological processes with serious environmental implications. When exposed to air and water, pyrite undergoes oxidation, releasing sulfate, ultimately forming sulfuric acid and mobilizing heavy metals into surrounding water systems. This phenomenon, known as acid mine drainage (AMD), results in low pH waters laden with toxic elements that threaten aquatic...