Arctic mining has a bad reputation because the extractive industry is often responsible for a suite of environmental problems. Yet, few studies explore the gap between untouched tundra and messy megaproject from a historical perspective. Our paper focuses on Advent City as a case study of the emergence of coal mining in Svalbard (Norway) coupled with the onset of mining-related environmental change. After short but intensive human activity (1904–1908), the ecosystem had a century to respond, and we observe a lasting impact on the flora in particular. With interdisciplinary contributions from historical archaeology, archaeozoology, archaeobotany and botany, supplemented by stable isotope analysis, we examine 1) which human activities initially asserted pressure on the Arctic environment, 2) whether the miners at Advent City were “eco-conscious,” for example whether they showed concern for the environment and 3) how the local ecosystem reacted after mine closure and site abandonment. Among the remains of typical mining infrastructure, we prioritised localities that revealed the subtleties of long-term anthropogenic impact. Significant pressure resulted from landscape modifications, the import of non-native animals and plants, hunting and fowling, and the indiscriminate disposal of waste material. Where it was possible to identify individual inhabitants, these shared an economic attitude of waste not, want not, but they did not hold the environment in high regard. Ground clearances, animal dung and waste dumps continue to have an effect after a hundred years. The anthropogenic interference with the fell field led to habitat creation, especially for vascular plants. The vegetation cover and biodiversity were high, but we recorded no exotic or threatened plant species. Impacted localities generally showed a reduction of the natural patchiness of plant communities, and highly eutrophic conditions were unsuitable for liverworts and lichens. Supplementary isotopic analysis of animal bones added data to the marine reservoir offset in Svalbard underlining the far-reaching potential of our multi-proxy approach. We conclude that although damaging human–environment interactions formerly took place at Advent City, these were limited and primarily left the visual impact of the ruins. The fell field is such a dynamic area that the subtle anthropogenic effects on the local tundra may soon be lost. The fauna and flora may not recover to what they were before the miners arrived, but they will continue to respond to new post-industrial circumstances.

中文翻译：

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短期北极矿山的人与环境相互作用以及当地苔原植被的长期响应

北极采矿的名声不好，因为采掘业通常要对一系列环境问题负责。然而，很少有研究从历史的角度探讨未开发的苔原和混乱的大型项目之间的差距。我们的论文侧重于将降临城作为斯瓦尔巴群岛（挪威）煤炭开采的出现以及与采矿相关的环境变化的开始的案例研究。在短暂而密集的人类活动（1904-1908 年）之后，生态系统有一个世纪的时间来应对，我们特别观察到对植物群的持久影响。借助历史考古学、考古动物学、考古植物学和植物学的跨学科贡献，辅以稳定同位素分析，我们研究了 1）哪些人类活动最初对北极环境造成了压力，2）降临城的矿工是否“具有生态意识，” 例如，他们是否表现出对环境的关注，以及 3）当地生态系统在矿山关闭和场地废弃后如何反应。在典型采矿基础设施的遗迹中，我们优先考虑揭示长期人为影响的微妙之处的地方。巨大的压力来自景观改造、外来动植物的进口、狩猎和捕鸟以及废物的不加选择处理。在可以识别个体居民的情况下，这些人都具有共同的经济态度 巨大的压力来自景观改造、外来动植物的进口、狩猎和捕鸟以及废物的不加选择处理。在可以识别个体居民的情况下，这些人都具有共同的经济态度 巨大的压力来自景观改造、外来动植物的进口、狩猎和捕鸟以及废物的不加选择处理。在可以识别个体居民的情况下，这些人都具有共同的经济态度浪费不可，但他们没有高度重视环境。一百年后，地面清理、动物粪便和废物倾倒场继续发挥作用。对荒地的人为干扰导致了栖息地的创造，尤其是维管植物。植被覆盖率和生物多样性很高，但我们没有记录到外来或受威胁的植物物种。受影响地区普遍表现出植物群落的自然斑块减少，高度富营养化的条件不适合地衣和地衣。动物骨骼的补充同位素分析为斯瓦尔巴群岛的海洋水库偏移增加了数据，强调了我们的多代理方法的深远潜力。我们得出的结论是，虽然破坏性的人类与环境的相互作用以前发生在降临城，这些是有限的，主要是留下了废墟的视觉影响。荒地是一个如此动态的区域，以至于对当地苔原的微妙的人为影响可能很快就会消失。动植物可能无法恢复到矿工到达之前的状态，但他们将继续应对新的后工业环境。