Assessing the Impact of Conceding Mines on the Vulnerability of Tabas Ecosystems

Mining is considered one of the dimensions of development that human activities affect ecosystems. In land sustainable management (LSM), ecosystem changes that occur in areas during mining -as one of the appropriate measures to determine the ecological vulnerability- is very important. In the present study, based on ecological sustainability, environmental degradation model of Tabas city were evaluated and classified. In this regard, a set of environmental factors including topography, vegetation, climate, groundwater, soil, and geology data layers were prepared using satellite images and stationary data. According to the results, environmental factors of topographic, precipitation, and vegetation have the highest sensitivity, respectively. According to studies, mines accounted for 15.3 percent of the study area. Most exploratory mines were classified in a semi-sensitive class. Soil and geological (edaphic) factors with the highest ecological limitation were more diverse than other factors in this region. Accordingly, due to the high sensitivity of the soil and the possibility of erosion, especially in areas with low vegetation or barren lands in eastern and southwestern areas that have more vulnerable, should be less priority in mining activities.