Modeling of degraded soils due to limestone exploitation in the municipality of Pueblo Bello (Colombia)

Abstract

Throughout the extraction of mineral resources, various actions such as removing vegetation cover, uprooting, loading, transportation, and stockpiling minerals are carried out, thus making the landscape susceptible to erosion. This research aims to model degraded soils during mining activity using the RUSLE model by integrating geographic information system (GIS) tools at the Caracoli mine in the municipality of Pueblo Bello-Cesar (Colombia). The results show a degree of erodibility with ranges between 0 - 9.25 tons per hectare per year (t/ha/year). Approximately 97.2% of the Caracoli mine is in the highly light, light (2.1%), and moderate (0.7%) erosion class. The development of the research will make it possible to predict the behavior of these soils, which will allow the formulation of efficient conservation measures and thus lay the foundations for developing sustainable mining.