Plantation performance of chestnut hybrids and progenitors on reclaimed Appalachian surface mines.

Reclamation of surface mined sites to forests is a preferred post-mining land use option, but performance of planted trees on such sites is variable. American chestnut ( (Marsh.) Borkh.

Nutrient concentrations in tree leaves on brown and gray reclaimed mine soils in West Virginia.

Surface mining in Appalachia disrupts large areas of forested land. Federal and state laws require disturbed lands be reclaimed by re-constructing the landscape and replacing soil materials to provide a rooting medium. If insufficient quantities of native topsoil are available, substitute materials derived from the overburden may be used as soil media.

Hardwood tree growth on amended mine soils in west virginia.

Each year surface mining in Appalachia disrupts large areas of forested land. The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act requires coal mine operators to establish a permanent vegetative cover after mining, and current practice emphasizes soil compaction and planting of competitive forage grasses to stabilize the site and control erosion. These practices hinder recolonization of native hardwood trees on these reclaimed sites.

Hardwood tree growth after eight years on brown and gray mine soils in west virginia.

Surface coal mining in Appalachia disturbs hundreds of hectares of land every year with the removal of valuable and ecologically diverse eastern deciduous forests. After the passage of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act in 1977, coal mine operators began planting a variety of grasses and legumes as a fast and economical way to reestablish a permanent vegetative cover to meet erosion and site stabilization requirements. However, soil compaction and competitive forage species have arrested the recolonization of native hardwood tree species on these reclaimed sites.

Survival and growth of chestnut backcross seeds and seedlings on surface mines.

Some scientists consider the loss of the American chestnut from forests in the eastern United States as one of the greatest forest ecological disasters in the 20th century. The American Chestnut Foundation has been attempting to restore chestnut by backcrossing blight-resistant Chinese chestnut to American chestnut and selecting those strains with blight resistance. Third-generation backcross seeds and seedlings have been produced and planted by researchers.