Post‐Mining Conservation Measures for Erosion Control: A Global Assessment of Their Effectiveness on Runoff and Soil Erosion Reduction

ABSTRACT Mining activities severely disturb land surfaces and hydrological processes, intensifying hillslope erosion and soil loss. To evaluate the effectiveness of post‐mining restoration measures and identify the factors regulating their performance, we compiled a global dataset of runoff and soil erosion yield from 58 studies spanning multiple mine types, climatic zones, and restoration practices, and conducted a weighted meta‐analysis using random‐effects models. Overall, restoration measures reduced runoff by 49.0% and soil erosion yield by 67.6%, with consistently greater reductions in soil erosion. Combined measures were most effective, whereas soil amendment alone showed the weakest runoff reduction (21.1%). Runoff reduction increased with restoration duration, while soil erosion control was strong initially but showed a transient decline before recovering. Restoration effectiveness also varied substantially among mine types and environmental conditions. Soil erosion reduction was more sensitive than runoff to climatic and topographic factors, with higher rainfall intensity and steeper slopes generally weakening both runoff and soil erosion control. Slopes longer than 15 m sharply reduced soil erosion control (56.9% vs. > 70% on shorter slopes). Vegetation cover further revealed contrasting responses: runoff reduction plateaued at approximately 40% cover, whereas soil erosion reduction continued to increase up to 80%–100% cover. These findings demonstrate that post‐mining restoration effectiveness is jointly regulated by restoration strategy, recovery duration, and site conditions, highlighting the need for context‐specific combinations of restoration measures, vegetation targets, and landform configurations.