7th TECMINE Partners Coordination Meeting - LIFE Tecmine

Last 21st and 22nd October, the coordination meeting of the LIFE TECMINE project partners took place to discuss and evaluate the status of the actions. In this occasion we counted on the presence of the monitor NEEMO that gives us support and pursuit throughout the project.

As the previous time, the meeting was held through video-conference due to the restrictions by the COVID-19 pandemic. On the 22nd some members of the team went to the Fortuna mine to see the results on site.

Status of actions:

Monitoring

Restoration monitoring is underway. During the last two years of the project, indicators will be measured: (1) Topography and hydrology, (2) Ecosystem services, and (3) Socioeconomic impact.

Only preliminary conclusions are available at this time. It is necessary to conclude all measurement campaigns in order to evaluate a wider range of data.
In relation to the erosion in the GeoFluv areas, the technical team agrees that the observed erosion is the expected one and the type of substrate influences the behavior of such erosion.

So far, it is observed that erosion does not limit the development of vegetation. In this sense, the vegetation has grown spectacularly and the micro-attatchements are facilitating water retention and infiltration into the deep layers, which is favoring radical development and survival.

One of the challenges of the project has been to introduce a wide variety of plant species with the aim of increasing biodiversity. So far, 80% of survival and growth in height of up to 80cm has been recorded, depending on the species. These results are better than expected due to the adverse climatic conditions of the areas and confirm that the selection of species has adjusted very well to the different environments of the restored areas.

As the project progresses, the team notices the importance of the area that is located a few centimeters from the ground surface and where various factors converge such as soil, vegetation, surface water, and water in depth. This is the layer that supports life and to which special attention must be paid in the restoration projects of degraded soils.

Other actions

The projects of replicability of the techniques are still on progress. One of them is in the Comunitat Valenciana.

The technical guide for restoration is being written.

Training is one of the key elements of the project, which is why the restoration course for civil servants will be held online from 24 to 27 November 2020. On the same day of its publication all the places were covered, so it is planned to organize new editions in the future.

All scheduled events have been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They will be held when the situation allows.

Conclusion

The restoration, in general, presents an amazing natural aspect, both for the forms as for the vegetable cover and the aspect of the soil.