Effects of coal mining disturbance on spatial and temporal distribution of soil water content in Northwest China‐based on 3D EBK model

Abstract Northwest China is both an important coal storage base and an ecologically fragile area, and soil water content (SWC) is a key factor limiting the ecological development of Northwest China. Revealing the characteristics of spatial and temporal distribution changes of soil water content in mining areas under coal mining disturbance and the influencing mechanism is crucial for the protection of water resources in mining areas. In this study, the soil water content (depth 0–1000 cm) of a typical coal mine subsidence area in the western part of Shendong Coal Group was monitored in situ for 1 year after mining, and the absolute value, variability, and spatial distribution of soil water content were temporally analysed by combining classical statistics, 2D Ordinary Kriging and 3D Empirical Bayesian kriging spatial interpolation. sequence analysis. The results showed that the shallow SWC (0 ~ 60 cm) was distributed horizontally in bands, and gradually increased along the direction from northwest to southeast; with the increase of coal mining time, the absolute value of SWC decreased by 0.81% ~ 33.58%, and the coefficient of variation decreased and then increased, with the range of variation from 2.19% ~ 34.49%. The deep SWC (100 ~ 1000 cm) was stratified vertically and increased with soil depth, and the shallow and deeper soil moisture would gradually migrate to the middle layer under the influence of coal mining. In addition, this paper accurately portrays the three‐dimensional spatial and temporal distribution of soil water content by the 3D EBK model, which further reveals the mechanism of coal mining's influence on soil water content. This study can provide technical and data support for predicting and evaluating the potential impacts of mining activities on the water cycle, and help mining areas to formulate policies for managing and protecting water resources.