1 . Gold mining has rapidly increased across the Amazon in recent years, especially along the Guiana Shield, where it is responsible for as much as 90% of total deforestation (森林砍伐). Now, an international study has provided detailed information on the regeneration (再生) of forests in Guyana after gold mining.
The team found that forest recovery rates on abandoned mines are amongst the lowest ever recorded for tropical forests. At some sites there was nearly no tree regeneration even after three to four years since mining had stopped.
The study shows that tropical forests are strongly affected by mining activities, and have very little capacity to re-establish themselves. The mining process has removed almost all nitrogen from the soil, a critical component to forest recovery, and in many cases directly contributed to the presence of mercury (汞) within neighbouring forests and rivers. Active mining sites have on average 250 times more mercury concentrations than abandoned sites.
Not only does this have serious consequences for our battle against global warming by limiting Amazonian forests' ability to capture and store carbon, but there is also a larger implication of polluting food sources especially for local communities who rely on rivers.
Active management and enforcement of laws is clearly needed to ensure recovery and to safeguard communities. However, the current economic crisis is significantly increasing the demand for gold, given its role as an economic stabiliser. With current gold price estimated to rise in the coming months, many miners are already rapidly responding to this increase in pricing. And the weakening of environmental laws and policies is also leading to further deforestation.
The study analyzed soil samples to determine recovery and chemical changes caused by mining. Their results suggest that forest recovery is strongly limited by severe mining-induced depletion (损耗) of soil nutrients, especially nitrogen, rather than by mercury contamination. The high rate of mercury, however, does have serious implications for negative impacts on food security, water supply and local biodiversity.
Mr Gavin Agard, Commissioner of the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC)said: “This scientific work will greatly improve Guyana's baseline and understanding of the forest degradation impacts of mining. The findings and recommendations from this study will significantly impact policy and management strategies for forest restoration and rehabilitation in mined-out areas.”
1. What does the underlined word “this” in paragraph 4 refer to?| A．The mining process. | B．The presence of mercury. |
| C．The mining-related deforestation. | D．The lack of nitrogen. |
| A．The rise of gold price. | B．Good economic situation. |
| C．Mercury pollution. | D．The strengthening of environmental laws. |
| A．Ambiguous. | B．Opposed. | C．Supportive. | D．Cautious. |
| A．Approaches to recovering forests on mined lands |
| B．Gold mining restricts Amazon rainforest recovery |
| C．Reasons for the poor rainforest recovery in Guyana |
| D．Strict environmental laws ensure rainforest recovery |
