Impact of potash mining in streams: the Llobregat basin (northeast Spain) as a case study
Potash mining is significantly increasing the salt concentration of rivers and streams due to lixiviates coming from the mine tailings. In the present study, we have focused on the middle Llobregat basin (northeast Spain), where an important potash mining activity exists from the beginning of the XX...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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PAGEPress Publications
2016-12-01
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| Series: | Journal of Limnology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.jlimnol.it/index.php/jlimnol/article/view/1525 |
| _version_ | 1818446336668729344 |
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| author | Ruben Ladrera Miguel Cañedo-Argüelles Narcís Prat |
| author_facet | Ruben Ladrera Miguel Cañedo-Argüelles Narcís Prat |
| author_sort | Ruben Ladrera |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Potash mining is significantly increasing the salt concentration of rivers and streams due to lixiviates coming from the mine tailings. In the present study, we have focused on the middle Llobregat basin (northeast Spain), where an important potash mining activity exists from the beginning of the XX century. Up to 50 million tonnes of saline waste have been disposed in the area, mainly composed of sodium chloride. We assessed the ecological status of streams adjacent to the mines by studying different physicochemical and hydromorphological variables, as well as aquatic macroinvertebrates. We found extraordinary high values of salinity in the studied streams, reaching conductivities up to 132.4 mS/cm. Salt-polluted streams were characterized by a deterioration of the riparian vegetation and the fluvial habitat. Both macroinvertebrate richness and abundance decreased with increasing salinity. In the most polluted stream only two families of macroinvertebrates were found: Ephydridae and Ceratopogonidae. According to the biotic indices IBMWP and IMMi-T, none of the sites met the requirements of the Water Framework Directive (WFD; i.e., good ecological status). Overall, we can conclude that potash-mining activities have the potential to cause severe ecological damage to their surrounding streams. This is mainly related to an inadequate management of the mine tailings, leading to highly saline runoff and percolates entering surface waters. Thus, we urge water managers and policy makers to take action to prevent, detect and remediate salt pollution of rivers and streams in potash mining areas. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-14T19:46:07Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2667b8b0ca244d338ef6a54eea542f99 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1129-5767 1723-8633 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-14T19:46:07Z |
| publishDate | 2016-12-01 |
| publisher | PAGEPress Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Limnology |
| spelling | doaj.art-2667b8b0ca244d338ef6a54eea542f992022-12-21T22:49:34ZengPAGEPress PublicationsJournal of Limnology1129-57671723-86332016-12-0176210.4081/jlimnol.2016.1525885Impact of potash mining in streams: the Llobregat basin (northeast Spain) as a case studyRuben Ladrera0Miguel Cañedo-Argüelles1Narcís Prat2Universitat BarcelonaUniversity of Vic Central University of CataloniaUniversitat BarcelonaPotash mining is significantly increasing the salt concentration of rivers and streams due to lixiviates coming from the mine tailings. In the present study, we have focused on the middle Llobregat basin (northeast Spain), where an important potash mining activity exists from the beginning of the XX century. Up to 50 million tonnes of saline waste have been disposed in the area, mainly composed of sodium chloride. We assessed the ecological status of streams adjacent to the mines by studying different physicochemical and hydromorphological variables, as well as aquatic macroinvertebrates. We found extraordinary high values of salinity in the studied streams, reaching conductivities up to 132.4 mS/cm. Salt-polluted streams were characterized by a deterioration of the riparian vegetation and the fluvial habitat. Both macroinvertebrate richness and abundance decreased with increasing salinity. In the most polluted stream only two families of macroinvertebrates were found: Ephydridae and Ceratopogonidae. According to the biotic indices IBMWP and IMMi-T, none of the sites met the requirements of the Water Framework Directive (WFD; i.e., good ecological status). Overall, we can conclude that potash-mining activities have the potential to cause severe ecological damage to their surrounding streams. This is mainly related to an inadequate management of the mine tailings, leading to highly saline runoff and percolates entering surface waters. Thus, we urge water managers and policy makers to take action to prevent, detect and remediate salt pollution of rivers and streams in potash mining areas.http://www.jlimnol.it/index.php/jlimnol/article/view/1525Potash miningfreshwater salinizationLlobregat basinecological statusaquatic macroinvertebratesbiotic indices. |
| spellingShingle | Ruben Ladrera Miguel Cañedo-Argüelles Narcís Prat Impact of potash mining in streams: the Llobregat basin (northeast Spain) as a case study Journal of Limnology Potash mining freshwater salinization Llobregat basin ecological status aquatic macroinvertebrates biotic indices. |
| title | Impact of potash mining in streams: the Llobregat basin (northeast Spain) as a case study |
| title_full | Impact of potash mining in streams: the Llobregat basin (northeast Spain) as a case study |
| title_fullStr | Impact of potash mining in streams: the Llobregat basin (northeast Spain) as a case study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Impact of potash mining in streams: the Llobregat basin (northeast Spain) as a case study |
| title_short | Impact of potash mining in streams: the Llobregat basin (northeast Spain) as a case study |
| title_sort | impact of potash mining in streams the llobregat basin northeast spain as a case study |
| topic | Potash mining freshwater salinization Llobregat basin ecological status aquatic macroinvertebrates biotic indices. |
| url | http://www.jlimnol.it/index.php/jlimnol/article/view/1525 |
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