Underground mining long-term impacts on forest lands

Underground mining of oil shale in northeastern Estonia causes changes in t he exterior of the local landscape in the form of depressions with a depth up to 1.7 metres. As a result of the changing water regime (formation of sm all water-bodies and marshy areas) the environmental conditions in subsided areas will be affected as well, influencing the development and alternatio n of local plant communities. Researches and surveys in the subsided area, which was formed 20 years ago in the area of room-and-pillar mining, prove that the former forest has become a poor fen that may further develop to a swamp forest or a transitional bog forest. The affected areas are of great interest from the viewpoint of landscape diversity.