How science contributes to the restoration of natural spaces

Irene Vega

El LIFE RIBERMINE project (Fluvial freshwater habitat recovery through geomorphic-based mine ecological restoration in Iberian Peninsula), coordinated by the Community Board of Castilla-La Mancha, has been developed in two areas: Alto Tajo (Peñalén, Guadalajara) and the Iberian Pyritic Belt (in the mines of Lousal, Portugal). This project is pioneering in combining physical stabilization techniques, based on relief restoration, with chemical stabilization techniques for pollution mitigation and control. In both cases, the premises of the so-called “nature-based solutions” have been followed, that is, those that use natural processes themselves to mitigate the impacts produced by human activity.

In this project, which has been financed by European funds through the call LIFE Programme, a scientific team from the Rey Juan Carlos University (URJC) has participated in the chemical stabilization of mining waste in order to mitigate the generation of water contaminated by heavy metals and Acid Mine Drainage (AMD). The field of action has been centered on a technofloor built in Lousal by the Complutense University (UCM) and the Living Science Center. “The technosoil has been designed with two fundamental objectives. On the one hand, to help protect against erosion by serving as a substrate for vegetation and, on the other, to promote chemical stabilization, by neutralizing Acid Mine Drainage and retaining heavy metals in the soil,” explains Javier Lillo, researcher. from the Geology area of ​​the URJC and an expert in water resources management.

As indicated by the first data obtained from the monitoring and development of vegetation in the Lousal mines, the results have been optimal: “both the erosion and removal of contaminated materials and the generation of DAM with a high concentration have been reduced. of dissolved metals”, concludes the URJC researcher.

The design and implementation of the soil and rehabilitation work have been presented in a scientific article, published in the International Journal of Mining, Reclamation and Environment.

Final project report

The global data of the work carried out is collected in the Layman Report, published on the LIFE RIBERMINE project website. Included in this study are the results of the work carried out by the URJC scientific team, aimed at the restoration of the mining lands in the Lousal region, and with it, the recovery of the river ecosystems affected by mining activity. The success of the techniques applied in the project makes it a reference work worldwide in the restoration of habitats affected by mining activity.