No abstract

White pine (Pinus strobus L.) is planted extensively following reclamation of surface-mined land in the eastern coalfields. Little information exists on the productive potential of forests growing on reclaimed mined land and the response of these forests to intermediate stand treatments such as thinning. A thinning study was established in a 17-year-old white pine stand growing on a reclaimed surface mine in Wise County in southwest Virginia. A random complete block design was used to evaluate the growth response 9 growing seasons after thinning, when the stand was 26 years old. Stand parameters were projected to age 30 using a stand table projection. Site index of the stand was found to be 105 ft at a base age of 50 years. Thinning increased the diameter growth of the residual trees to 0.3 in. year−1 compared with 0.2 in. year−1 for the unthinned treatment; however, at age 26, there was no difference in volume or value per acre. When projected to age 30, the unthinned treatment had a volume of 6,530 ft3 ac−1 but was only worth $3,564 ac−1, whereas the thinned treatment was projected to have 6,654 ft3 ac−1, which was worth $4,559 ac−1 due to a larger percentage of the volume in sawtimber size classes. These results indicate that commercial forestry is a viable alternative for reclamation of surface-mined lands and that stands growing on reclaimed mined land can respond well to intermediate stand treatments.

Surface mined lands in the Appalachian coal producing region reclaimed after the passage of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA) have been found to have dense ground covers, compacted soil materials, and unfavorable soil chemical properties. To address these concerns three study sites, which had been reclaimed post-SMCRA, were located in Lawrence County, Ohio, Nicholas County, West Virginia, and Wise County, Virginia. At each site, three species assemblages were planted across a gradient of three levels of silvicultural intensity intended to alleviate the previously mentioned problems associated with post-SMCRA mined land. Response to treatment was variable by site with the site in Virginia having the best survival and greatest growth of the three sites. Hardwood species survived better at all sites than white pine or hybrid poplar. Hardwood survival across treatments was 80 and 85% for sites in Virginia and West Virginia respectively, while only 50% in Ohio. Hybrid poplar height and diameter growth were superior to other species with the height growth of this species reaching 126.6cm in the most intensive treatment at the site in Virginia. Hybrid poplar biomass increased from 15.7g to 104.5g from the least intensive to the most intensive silvicultural treatment for the site in Nicholas County, West Virginia. Hybrid poplar's excellent response to silvicultural treatment and adequate survival, especially at the site in Virginia, may give this species an advantage over the others tested in this experiment for reverting post-SMCRA reclaimed mined lands supporting grasses back to forests.