Reclamation specialists are concerned about efficient and effective methods to revegetate landscapes disturbed by surface mining. Traditional reforestation approaches where trees are "lined-out" in plantation fashion, may not always be effective on dry, sandy, upland soils. Therefore, we conducted a study where we created a small forest patch, densely packed with woody plants and observed the expansion of this patch for 10 years (1983 to 1993). In addition, we compared the mortality of plants within the patch with "lined-out" plants. During our investigation, the patch doubled in area and the patch increased its perimeter to area ratio. Mortality for the "lined-out" vegetation was significantly greater (p<0.01). However, the development of the forest floor and the introduction to new plants species into the patch was slow. We estimate that the forest patch planting approach would generate woody vegetation cover across the landscape at a rate that was faster than the "lined-out" approach. We suggest that the patch design mitigated the adverse microclimate conditions associated with upland sandy soils, replicating a dry-mesic forest environment.Additional Key Words: plant ecology, landscape ecology, landscape architecture, planting design, landscape horticulture, urban forestry

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