Four decades of regional wet deposition, local bulk deposition, and stream-water chemistry show the influence of nearby land use on forested streams in Central Appalachia.

Hydrologic monitoring began on two headwater streams (<1 km) on the University of Kentucky's Robinson Forest in 1971. We evaluated stream-water (1974-2013) and bulk-deposition (wet + dust) (1984-2013) chemistry in the context of regional wet-deposition patterns that showed decreases in both sulfate and nitrate concentrations as well as proximal surface-mine expansion. Decadal time steps (1974-83, 1984-93, 1994-2003, 2004-2013) were used to quantify change.

Hydrologic modeling to examine the influence of the forestry reclamation approach and climate change on mineland hydrology.

Forests in the Appalachian region of the U.S. are threatened by a variety of short- and long-term pressures, including climate change, invasive species, and resource extraction.

Sediment and biota trace element distribution in streams disturbed by upland industrial activity.

Extensive industrial areas in headwater stream watersheds can severely impact the physical condition of streams and introduce contaminants. We compared 3 streams that received stormwater runoff and industrial effluents from industrial complexes to 2 reference streams. Reference streams provide a benchmark of comparison of geomorphic form and stability in coastal plain, sandy-bottomed streams as well as concentrations of trace elements in sediment and biota in the absence of industrial disturbance.

Water quality characteristics of discharge from reforested loose-dumped mine spoil in eastern Kentucky.

Surface mining is a common method for extracting coal in the coal fields of eastern Kentucky. Using the Forestry Reclamation Approach (FRA), which emphasizes the use of minimally compacted or loose-dumped spoil as a growth medium for trees, reclamation practitioners are successfully reestablishing forests. Yet, questions remain regarding the effects FRA has on the quality of waters discharged to receiving streams.

Restoring forests and associated ecosystem services on appalachian coal surface mines.

Surface coal mining in Appalachia has caused extensive replacement of forest with non-forested land cover, much of which is unmanaged and unproductive. Although forested ecosystems are valued by society for both marketable products and ecosystem services, forests have not been restored on most Appalachian mined lands because traditional reclamation practices, encouraged by regulatory policies, created conditions poorly suited for reforestation. Reclamation scientists have studied productive forests growing on older mine sites, established forest vegetation experimentally on recent mines, and identified mine reclamation practices that encourage forest vegetation re-establishment.