Coastal ecosystem degradation driven by decades of unregulated terrestrial mining

Abstract Anthropogenic land-based disturbances can cascade into the sea, altering coastal ecosystems over long timescales. Mining exemplifies this land-sea connectivity, yet its full environmental footprint is underestimated when marine impacts are overlooked. Here, we investigate long-term coastal changes associated with nickel mining using a paleoecological approach in New Caledonia. A 226-cm sediment core spanning ~1000 years was analysed, combining ancient sedimentary DNA, foraminifera, and geochemistry. Since its onset in 1875, mining has modified sediment run-off and microbial assemblages. The most pronounced changes occurred in the 1960s after the mechanisation of extraction tools, which intensified soil erosion and increased sediment run-off, altering the richness and structure of both microeukaryotic and foraminiferal communities. Although post-1975 regulations mitigated nickel-rich run-off, persistent ecological disturbances remain. These findings highlight how terrestrial disturbances can induce long-term changes in coastal ecosystems, emphasising that land and sea should be studied and managed as a connected continuum.

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Publication Details

Journal
Communications Earth & Environment
Published
2026-06-16
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-026-03677-8
Primary Topic
Geochemistry and Elemental Analysis
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
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article

Coastal ecosystem degradation driven by decades of unregulated terrestrial mining

Arthur Monjot, Gwénaël Jouet, Pascal Le Roy, Nicolas Briant et al.
Communications Earth & Environment
Geochemistry and Elemental Analysis
article

Coastal ecosystem degradation driven by decades of unregulated terrestrial mining

Arthur Monjot, Gwénaël Jouet, Pascal Le Roy, Nicolas Briant, Dominique Ansquer, Raffaele Siano, Florence Antypas, Leho Tedersoo, Delphine Dissard, Farid Juillot, Hugues Lemonnier, Vladimir Mikryukov, Sabine M. Schmidt, Thomas Haize, Mathisse Meyneng, Clémence Lavignon, Axel Ehrhold
article en

Abstract

Abstract Anthropogenic land-based disturbances can cascade into the sea, altering coastal ecosystems over long timescales. Mining exemplifies this land-sea connectivity, yet its full environmental footprint is underestimated when marine impacts are overlooked. Here, we investigate long-term coastal changes associated with nickel mining using a paleoecological approach in New Caledonia. A 226-cm sediment core spanning ~1000 years was analysed, combining ancient sedimentary DNA, foraminifera, and geochemistry. Since its onset in 1875, mining has modified sediment run-off and microbial assemblages. The most pronounced changes occurred in the 1960s after the mechanisation of extraction tools, which intensified soil erosion and increased sediment run-off, altering the richness and structure of both microeukaryotic and foraminiferal communities. Although post-1975 regulations mitigated nickel-rich run-off, persistent ecological disturbances remain. These findings highlight how terrestrial disturbances can induce long-term changes in coastal ecosystems, emphasising that land and sea should be studied and managed as a connected continuum.

Communications Earth & EnvironmentVol. 7(1)
University of New Caledonia (NC), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR), Université de Bordeaux (FR), Ifremer (FR), Université de Bretagne Occidentale (FR), Sorbonne Université (FR), Environnements et Paléoenvironnements Océaniques et Continentaux (FR), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (NC), Institut de minéralogie, de physique des matériaux et de cosmochimie (FR), Institut Polytechnique de Bordeaux (FR), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (FR), University of Tartu (EE)
Life below water
Openalex Percentile: Top 8%
Geochemistry and Elemental Analysis
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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