Impacts of Mining on Forests

The paper discusses the impacts of mining on forests, including direct displacement of forests, change in forest composition, and introduction of invasive species. It also explores the mitigation measures being implemented to address these impacts.

HUMAN ENVIRONMENT INTERACTION.
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Introduction
The boreal forest is considered to be one of the most important purveyors of ecosystem services
in the world. Such services include the storage of clean water and the carbon content as well. The
Boreal forest has been considered to be having a very big impact on the environment at the
global, regional and local strategies. These forests are known to harbor a significant population
of wildlife. The activities of mining have been identified as one of the economic activities in
Canada with the main environmental impact on the boreal forests. In Canada it is as a result of
the widespread presence of the mineral ores. Despite the fact that the majority of the studies that
have been carried out have just focused on the aquatic impacts of such activities, there is need to
have a perfect knowledge of the impacts of the same activities on the terrestrial environment. In
most of the mining processing plants in Canada are associated with smelting of minerals that
have heavy metals in nature. These minerals have affected the forests through the deposition of
such heavy metals into the vegetation through the pollution of air.

Figure 1: Graphical analysis of the climate change in Canada (O'Faircheallaigh and Ciaran
2013).
Primary footprint affects the immediate environment (Jenkins and Katy 2014). The secondary
footprint, on the other hand, refers to those areas that are indirectly affected by the activities of
mining. The impacts may include the migration effects of the wildlife, changes of the types of
the forests, accumulation of the windblown dust one various objects including other plant species
and the general noise from the site. It is important to note that the impacts of the secondary
footprint decline as the distance from the mine increases (O'Faircheallaigh and Ciaran 2013). The
purpose of this particular paper is to highlight some of the potential impacts of mining on the
species of plants. Specifically the exploration of Copper –nickel in various sites of mining. This
goes along with the evaluation of the mitigation measures that are being put in place to avert the
impacts of the same processes.
Figure 2: Diamond production in Canada (O'Faircheallaigh and Ciaran 2013)
Impacts on Forests

The process of mining has led to the direct displacement of the forests and the potential change
in the composition of the remnants of the forest within the areas considered to be of the primary
footprint. Some of the effects have extended to the secondary footprint. The magnitude of the
impact in various places is dependent on the number of acres under consideration or the area
coverage that is considered to be rich in minerals (Ferguson et al 2015). The most species of the
trees which are affected include those that are indigenous including Nodding Trillium. The
process of mining has therefore led to change of the type of the forests. The fragmentation and
disturbance have favored the emergence of other species of vegetation including the red maple. It
is expected that particular species of the plant will interact with climate change as well as mining
environment to change the type of forests in the areas of mining (Ross et al.2013). One of the
immediate impacts on the primary footprint will include the warm local environment. In regard
to this effect, the analysis of the basic behavior and composition of the forest will be of
significance so as to address the specific impacts on the biodiversity.
Invasive species
It is anticipated that numerous points of introduction will take place as a result of mining and
exploration process at the scale of this economic activity. This is because the disturbances of
human activities like clearance of vegetation as well as the building of roads are considered to be
responsible for the introduction of invasive species (Thuraisingham and Bhavani 2013). In spite
of the policies and the strict and effective laws that have been put in place by the authorities, the
impact is still being felt. This is because the species that are considered to be invasive have very
long distance disposal influence. They take advantage of the changes of the immediate
surrounding like changes on the soil composition. In the places that the construction of roads and
erection of the transmission line have taken place, the invasive species have created a mass

effect. The larger masses of the invasive species have dominated the fragmented areas with the
human population. The exotic species including Canada thistle are considered to be one of the
invasive species that have attacked the places of mining. Such cases of invasion have been
reported by Superior National Forest and BWCAW.
Figure 3: Environmental cost of mining in Canada (Thuraisingham and Bhavani 2013).
Mitigation Measures being put in place
The adaptation of climate change in the industry of mining has actually become a very essential
part of the planning process. This is specifically for the case of the northern regions of Canada.
The reduction in the forest cover has led to the change in the water patterns and other
hydrological processes (Cheraghi et al.2013). The Mining Association of Canada that is
commonly known as MAC has put various measures to curb the effects of the mining on the

environment. Among the issues that have been addressed by the organization include the use of
the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) and other policies that have been drafted in aid of the Management
of mining projects with the aim of achieving the goals of the initiatives of Towards Sustainable
Mining. In recent days, there was an update of the use of energy and GHG management protocol
to comply with the policies of Canadian practices.MAC has provided the mining industry with
clear guidelines and framework to bridge the gap of global inconsistencies (Sauchyn et al. 2015).
The state has launched a program of tree planting on the old mine places to reclaim such places.
The strict policies have been enacted to restrict the activities of the mining companies in regard
to the total area coverage during the activities of mining. This initiative is meant to increase the
forest coverage that has been under the threat from the activities of mining.
Review of the issue in regard to personal opinion
The environmental conservation issue has taken the center stage in very many parts of the world.
This is because the world is starting to feel the impact of the human economic activities that are
considered destructive to the natural environment. Global warming, increase desertification
among other effects are some of the results of the misuse of natural resources. There are several
initiatives that are being adopted by the states including formulation of the policies to conserve
the environment. In such steps, Canada has not been left behind. Although mining is one of the
lucrative economic activities that fetch foreign exchange, it should not be done at the expense of
environmental degradation. The government should adopt a sustainable mining process that
provides job opportunities as well as conserving the environment. The areas that are seriously
affected by the mining activities should be reclaimed by planting exotic species of trees whose
maturity period takes a shorter time.

Conclusion
The impacts of mining on the natural ecosystem have been studied in most of the parts of the
world. This has also led to the generation of the possible solutions of reclamation and measures
to maintain environmental quality (Brown et al.2014). The ecological footprint of mining activity
must be understood in the context that extends beyond the area that is directly impacted. The
primary footprint should be regarded as areas that are directly affected. This basically implies the
footprint can be divided into secondary and primary areas. The area that is directly impacted by
the activities of mining is regarded as the primary footprint. In such areas, the activities such as
road construction, activities of crushing rocks, the creation of the parking lots and building of the
network of transmission to accommodate the workers at the mine and other activities have taken
place.

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