Ecological Impacts of Mining in the Amazon: Thematic Trends and Research Gaps
Jonison Vieira Pinheiro, Walmer Bruno Rocha Martins, Juliana Siqueira-Gay, Sara Villén-Pérez, Vinicius José Giglio

TL;DR
This paper reviews 30 years of research on mining's ecological impacts in the Amazon, identifying key themes and significant gaps in scientific understanding.
Contribution
The study introduces a systematic synthesis using LDA to map thematic trends and research gaps in mining-related ecological literature in the Amazon.
Findings
Mercury bioaccumulation and human exposure are the most studied topics, reflecting toxicological concerns.
Environmental monitoring and landscape changes receive limited attention, indicating research gaps.
Semantic analysis reveals weak connections between monitoring indicators and biodiversity or toxicological studies.
Abstract
Mining activities have expanded rapidly in the Amazon, generating ecological, social, and health concerns. Although the number of publications addressing mining impacts has grown, studies often lack integrative assessments. Here, we provide a systematic synthesis of how the ecological impacts of mining in the Amazon have been framed in the scientific literature over the last 30 years (1995–2025). We analysed 462 peer-reviewed articles and applied Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) to identify the main themes discussed in the literature and the research gaps that structure this field. Twelve topics emerged and were grouped into five categories: Pollution and Toxicology, Land Use, Social–Ecological Systems, Biodiversity and Ecosystem Health, and Monitoring and Assessment. The most prevalent topics were mercury bioaccumulation, human mercury exposure, and post-mining restoration,…
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Taxonomy
TopicsMining and Resource Management · Tailings Management and Properties · Indigenous Health and Education
