Bioindicator

An organism or group of organisms whose presence, abundance, condition, or physiological state provides information about the health and quality of an ecosystem or the degree of environmental disturbance. In mining environments, bioindicators are used to assess impacts on water quality, soil health, and ecosystem recovery. Macroinvertebrates indicate aquatic ecosystem health; lichen communities indicate air quality; native plant regeneration indicates soil restoration success. Bioindicators complement chemical monitoring in environmental performance assessment at mine sites.