The alpine meadow around the mining areas on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau will degenerate as a result of the change of dominant species under the disturbance of open-pit mining

Abstract Mining is well-known as one of the most aggressive human disturbances leading to massive and irreversible damages to natural ecosystems. However, the influence mechanisms of open-pit mining on plant communities and soil properties of alpine meadow on the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau are not well understood. In this study, we used structural equation modeling (SEM) to study the influence mechanisms in the disturbed areas of the Qulong copper mine. Our results revealed that the soil parameters of alpine meadow have been significantly changed by mining activities. SEM results showed that Plantago depressa Willd. was more suitable for growing in current soil conditions due to its tolerance to heavy metals than other dominant species, which meant that it would substitute the current two dominant species (Kobresia myosuroides (Villars) Fiori and Blysmus sinocompressus Tang et Wang) in the future and become the most important dominant species in the study area. Unfortunately, the Shannon-Wiener index, Alatalo evenness index and M-Gordon stability index are relatively low in the plot with Plantago depressa Willd. as the dominant species. In a word, the fragile alpine meadow ecosystem may degenerate in the future due to plants and soil disturbed by mining activities. Further, eight targeted recommendations were proposed to protect alpine meadow on the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau.