蒙古高原地处欧亚大陆腹地，是全球煤炭资源分布最集中和最丰富的地区之一。近几十年来，该地区大规模的露天煤矿开采在带动内蒙古和蒙古国经济飞速发展的同时，也在剧烈影响着区域的生态环境，导致了众多环境和社会问题，对该区域的可持续发展造成巨大威胁。因此，开展蒙古高原露天煤矿景观时空格局及其环境和社会经济影响研究迫在眉睫，意义重大。 本研究在景观生态学理论和方法的指导下，综合运用“3S”技术、景观格局指数和统计分析方法，从“全局（整个蒙古高原）-区域（内蒙古和蒙古国）-局地（盟市）”三个尺度，全面量化蒙古高原1970s-2015年露天煤矿景观时空格局，并评估露天煤矿开采对该区域环境、经济和社会的影响。主要工作和结论如下： （1）基于Landsat和Google Earth遥感影像，建立了蒙古高原1970s-2015年露天煤矿空间信息数据集。综合利用归一化煤炭指数、植被指数和水体指数，结合目视判读，提取了整个蒙古高原1970s、1990、2000、2010和2015年露天煤矿空间信息，建立了一套空间分辨率为30m的蒙古高原近40年露天煤矿空间信息数据集。 （2）基于现代景观生态学的多尺度、多视角、多方法的途径，量化了蒙古高原1970s-2015年露天煤矿景观时空格局。在全局尺度上，蒙古高原露天煤矿开采区扩展迅速，呈现逐年增加趋势。其总面积和总个数分别自上世纪七十年代的20.77 km2和516个增加到2015年的683.92 km2和10,834个，年均增长率分别为9.13%和7.91%。近40年，蒙古高原露天煤矿空间格局整体上呈现分布更加集聚，形状更加复杂，区域景观更加破碎化的趋势。不同尺度上的露天煤矿景观时空格局存在一定差异。在全局和区域尺度上的时空格局具有较高的一致性，但在局地尺度上，蒙古国各盟市露天煤矿开采区除呈现逐年增加趋势外，还存在波动变化趋势。此外，相同尺度不同区域上的露天煤矿景观时空格局存在明显差异。2015年，90%以上的露天煤矿开采区分布在内蒙古境内。与蒙古国相比，分布在内蒙古境内的露天煤矿开采区在规模上更大，分布上更集聚，形状上更复杂。同时，1970s-2010年，内蒙古露天煤矿开采区扩展速率明显高于蒙古国，但2010-2015年，蒙古国露天煤矿开采区扩展速率超越了内蒙古，其面积年均增长率高达23.60%，是内蒙古相同时期年均增长率的2.33倍。 （3）基于增强型植被指数和降雨数据，发展了一种快速有效提取露天煤矿开采植被扰动区的方法。整合增强型植被指数和降雨数据，构建了一种新的植被扰动指数。该指数对降雨波动具有较低的敏感性，可以用于快速、有效地提取蒙古高原露天煤矿开采引发的植被扰动区。此外，该指数还能识别对植被生长有促进作用的人类活动（如灌溉）导致的植被扰动区，因此是一种适用于提取干旱半干旱地区植被扰动区的有效指数。 （4）从对陆地生态系统的直接占用和间接破坏，对水资源的消耗和水胁迫状态的影响等方面入手，评估了露天煤矿开采对区域环境的影响。在全局尺度上，2015年蒙古高原露天煤矿开采区以直接占用草地为主（占用面积为471.24 km2，是直接占用总面积的68.90%），耕地次之（占用面积为103.46 km2，是直接占用总面积的15.13%）。相比之下，蒙古高原露天煤矿开采间接破坏区（即植被扰动区）总面积可达9,815.94 km2，是直接占用区总面积的14.35倍。其中，草地受到的间接破坏面积最大（占间接破坏区总面积的60.90%），耕地次之（占间接破坏区总面积的18.32%）。在区域尺度上，内蒙古与蒙古高原情况相似，均是以直接占用和间接破坏草地为主，耕地次之。但是，蒙古国露天煤矿开采以直接占用和间接破坏荒漠为主，其直接占用荒漠的面积和间接破坏荒漠的面积分别为35.70 km2（占该地区直接占用总面积的52.95%）和716.08 km2（占该地区间接破坏总面积的52.85%）。此外，蒙古高原露天煤矿开采消耗了大量水资源，其水资源消耗量自1990年的135.85 m3增加到2015年的2,315.76 m3。同时，一半以上的露天煤矿开采影响区（包括直接占用区和间接破坏区）分布在极严重和严重等级水胁迫区域。 （5）从经济发展和社会经济公平性等方面入手，评估了露天煤矿开采对区域社会经济的影响。2000-2015年，内蒙古露天煤矿开采区面积与GDP（除第一产业GDP）、固定资产投资量和城镇居民/农牧民收入等社会经济因子之间均存在显著的正相关关系。其中，人均GDP与露天煤矿开采区面积之间的决定系数最大（0.609），城市居民人均可支配收入次之（0.578）。一方面，露天煤矿开采促进了内蒙古和蒙古国经济的快速发展。其中，内蒙古2005年GDP年均增长率达23.8%，是同期全球GDP年均增长率的6.19倍；蒙古国2011年GDP年均增长率为17.3%，是同期全球GDP年均增长率的5.48倍。另一方面，过度依赖煤炭开采的经济发展模式很容易受到全球经济状况和国际煤炭价格的影响，使该地区的经济发展具有很强的波动性和脆弱性。以蒙古国为例，它是出口导向型的经济发展模式，当面对2009年全球金融危机爆发和国际煤炭价格暴跌时，其GDP年均增长率从2008年的8.9%，骤降到2009年的-1.3%，随着国际煤炭价格回升，其GDP年均增长率在2011年迅速上升到17.3%。此外，露天煤矿开采还会影响社会经济的公平性。随着大规模的露天煤矿开采，蒙古高原城乡居民收入比和基尼系数呈现上升趋势，即社会经济不公平性程度增强。尤其是内蒙古，其城乡居民收入比自1990年的1.79增加到2015年的2.84；基尼系数自1995年的0.34增加到2010年的0.42。虽然蒙古国的城乡居民收入比和基尼系数的增加速度迄今远低于内蒙古，但其露天煤矿在近些年来的发展大有步内蒙古后尘之势。 本研究是第一个对整个蒙古高原露天煤矿开采进行的全面而系统的交叉学科整合性定量研究。其研究成果将为有效遏制蒙古高原露天煤矿的无序开采，建设美丽内蒙古，构筑我国北方生态安全屏障和促进该区域环境、经济和社会协调发展，提供重要的科学基础和数据支撑。

The Mongolian Plateau has long been known for its vast grasslands and legendary nomadism, as well as Genghis Khan and the Mongol Empire which had profound impacts on the course of history and the environment for Europe and Asia. Less known to the world is that the Mongolian Plateau is also rich in coal, the dirtiest of all fuels, contributing 12% (934 million tons) to the global coal production in 2015. During the past four decades, surface coal mining rampaged across the plateau, profoundly transformed the landscapes and the human-environment relationship. Thus, studying the spatiotemporal patterns as well as the environmental and socioeconomic impacts of surface coal mining in the Mongolian Plateau is crucial for curbing the rampant coal mining activities and promoting regional sustainable development in the region. This research, therefore, quantified the scope, speed, and pattern of surface coal mining, and assessed its environmental and socioeconomic impacts for the entire Mongolian Plateau during 1975-2015. The main findings are summarized as follows: (1) A database of surface coal mining areas during the 1970s-2015 for the Mongolian Plateau was established using Landsat and Google Earth images. We used the three indices (i.e., the normalized difference coal index, the built-up area index, and the normalized difference water index) and the visual image interpretation together to systematically identify surface coal mining sites and estimated the open-pit (coal-extracting) area of each mining site for the years of 1975, 1990, 2000, 2010, and 2015, based on multi-year Landsat remote sensing data and high-resolution Google Earth images. (2) The spatiotemporal patterns of surface coal mining in the Mongolian Plateau from the 1970s to 2015 were quantified at multiple scales. Across the Mongolian Plateau, the total coal mining area expanded exponentially from 20.77 km2 in 1975 to 683.92 km2 in 2015, with an average annual growth rate of 9.13%, as the total number of coal mining sites increased from 516 to 10,834, with an average annual growth rate of 7.91% during the same time period. The spatial configuration of surface coal mining areas became larger in size, more complex in shape, more fragmented in context, and more aggregated in structure over time at the whole plateau scale. The spatiotemporal patterns varied across scales and between regions. There was a consistent increasing trend at the two broader scales and inconsistent (i.e., increasing and fluctuant) trends at the local scale. Most of surface coal mining areas were located in Inner Mongolia, appearing structurally more aggregated and geometrically more complex than those in Mongolia. Surface coal mining areas increased faster in Inner Mongolia than in Mongolia during the 1970s-2010, with the opposite case during 2010-2015. (3) A new method for detecting vegetation disturbances by surface coal mining was developed by combining MODIS EVI data with precipitation data. We proposed a new vegetation disturbance index. This new index is a simple but effective index for quantifying the locations, spatial extents, and severity of vegetation degradation due to not only surface coal mining but also other human activities with positive impacts on vegetation conditions in arid and semiarid regions. (4) The environmental impacts of surface coal mining were assessed from the perspectives of terrestrial ecosystems and water resources. Surface coal mining caused an extensive degradation of terrestrial ecosystems, with the directly occupied land covers of 683.92 km2 and the indirectly damaged land covers of 9,815.94 km2 in the Mongolian Plateau. Grasslands were among the most influenced land covers in the Mongolia Plateau, followed by cultivated lands. In Inner Mongolia, grasslands suffered the greatest direct loss (72.62% of all directly destroyed ecosystems) as well as the largest indirect damage (64.40% of all indirectly degraded vegetation). In Mongolia, coal mining mostly occurred in deserts (52.95% of all directly destroyed and 52.85% of all indirectly degraded ecosystems). Surface coal mining consumed huge amounts of water and exacerbated the water stress of the plateau, with more than half of the influenced land covers being located in the extremely high and high water stress regions. (5) The socioeconomic impacts of surface coal mining were assessed from the perspectives of economic development and socioeconomic inequality. Surface coal mining area was significantly positively correlated with most socioeconomic factors, with the highest R2 observed between per capita GDP and surface coal mining area. In Inner Mongolia, its annual growth rate peaked at 23.8% in 2005, more than 6 times the world’s average. Mongolia’s GDP growth rate soared to 17.3% in 2011, nearly 5.5 times higher than the world’s average. However, the excessive reliance on coal made the economic systems in both regions vulnerable to uncertainties with national and international financial conditions. The annual GDP growth rate of Mongolia decreased from 8.9% in 2008 to -1.3% in 2009 due to the declining international coal price associated with the recent global financial crisis, shot back to 17.3% with the rapidly rising coal price in 2011, and then became sluggish again in accordance with a declining coal price trend. This is the first comprehensive study of the spatiotemporal pattern and environmental and socioeconomic impacts of surface coal mining for the entire Mongolian Plateau. Its findings provide a much needed scientific basis for the environmental protection and sustainable development in Inner Mongolia and the Mongolia Plateau as a whole.