Reclamation with trees: the ‘dark ages’ and the ‘Renaissance’

In the coal fields of southern Illinois, the highest forest productivity in the entire state for white oak, yellow-poplar and black walnut was found on old pre-law surface mines. In east Tennessee, a stand of pine trees planted in 1959 on ungraded spoil banks grew, matured and then was replaced through natural succession with a healthy, productive and highly diverse hardwood forest. In western Kentucky, Peabody Coal is currently harvesting merchantable timber from surface mines planted to red oak, white oak, yellow-poplar and other high-value hardwood species in the 1960s and 1970s. Before the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA), forestry was the post-mining land use of choice throughout the United States. But when the law was implemented in 1978, the ‘dark ages’ of surface mine reforestation began. Under SMCRA, restoring land productivity has been a dismal failure where grass wastelands replaced the forests that existed prior to mining.

But the law itself was not at fault. The problem was in the implementation of the law. In the early days of SMCRA, regulators focused on stability of landforms created by mining at the expense of restoring forest land capability. Their primary goal was to solve the problems caused by pre-SMCRA surface mining, such as severe erosion, sedimentation, landslides and mass instability. Minimal grading requirements of the pre-law era created loose rooting media that were conducive to the growth of trees, but had a propensity for instability. As a result, excessive soil compaction and the planting of aggressive ground cover became common on surface mines during the initial stages of SMCRA. Furthermore, both regulators and mine operators were challenged by the technical complexities of implementing SMCRA in the years following its passage. It followed that reforestation took a back seat. Lastly, some early efforts by mine operators to reforest under SMCRA proved problematic, in part because these efforts were conducted without the benefit of scientific knowledge that is available today; consequently, mine operators and regulators came to believe that post-mining land uses such as hay and pasture land were easier and cheaper to achieve than forests. These factors and others contributed to a significant loss of forests due to mining across Appalachia.

In the late 1990s reforestation researchers at universities across the coal fields made it clear to regulators and the industry that a surface mine reforestation ‘Renaissance’ was needed. In response, the Appalachian Regional Reforestation Initiative (ARRI) was created in 2003 as a cooperative effort by the States of the Appalachian Region and the Office of Surface Mining (OSM). ARRI is a broad-based citizen/industry/government group working to encourage planting of productive hardwood trees on reclaimed coal mined lands and abandoned mine lands. By using a combination of private and governmental resources, the programme facilitates and coordinates the coal industry, university researchers, the environmental community and state and federal government agencies that have an interest in creating productive forestland on reclaimed mined lands. ARRI is working to change the perception that tree planting is more expensive and risky than reclamation to pastureland. The goals of ARRI are to plant more high-value hardwood trees on reclaimed coal mined lands in Appalachia, increase the survival and growth rates of planted trees, accelerate the natural process of succession and reestablish forest habitat.

Forestry research has confirmed that highly productive forestland can be created on reclaimed mine land by using a five-step methodology called the Forestry Reclamation Approach (FRA). The FRA has taken lessons learned from past mining practices and modified current mining practices to create more productive forestland while maintaining the stability required under SMCRA. OSM and the Appalachian region states have determined that the FRA technology can be implemented under the current State and Federal regulations. The steps of the FRA discussed here are general guidelines. ARRI encourages each State to develop techniques that fit within the framework of the FRA and which address the unique environmental conditions that exist within that State:

Forestry reclamation approach

1. Create a suitable rooting medium for good tree growth that is no less than 4 ft deep and comprised of topsoil, weathered sandstone and/or the best available material;

2. Loosely grade the topsoil or topsoil substitutes established in step one to create a non-compacted soil growth medium;

3. Use native and non-competitive ground covers that are compatible with growing trees;

4. Plant two types of trees – early succession species for wildlife and soil stability and commercially valuable crop trees;

5. Use proper tree planting techniques.

The work of ARRI has attracted considerable international attention because the FRA is universal and applicable to all types of mining and in all places worldwide. Also, the development and execution of this science-based, multi-agency initiative is serving as an organisational model for other groups around the world whose goal is to restore disturbed landscapes through reforestation.

Forestland enriches us all by providing numerous environmental and economic benefits. Forestland is also a renewable resource. By working together, State and Federal government agencies, the coal industry, landowners, university researchers and local citizens can indeed create highly productive forestland on reclaimed mine land by using the FRA. For more information about the reforestation ‘renaissance’ that is spreading across the Appalachian coal fields, please visit ARRI's website at http://arri.osmre.gov/.

Dr. Patrick Angel has been employed by the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM), United States Department of Interior, in London, Kentucky since the implementation of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) in 1978. Dr. Angel has the distinction of having issued the first federal closure order under SMCRA and for 28 years he supervised the inspection and enforcement operations for OSM in the coal fields of eastern Kentucky. Dr. Angel is currently serving as Chief Forester and Soil Scientist for OSM where he is promoting reforestation partnerships on surface mines through the Appalachian Regional Reforestation Initiative. Dr. Angel is a graduate of Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, Texas with a BS and MS in Forestry and a graduate of the University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky with a PhD in Soil Science.