CASE STUDY: Prioritization strategies for reforestation of minelands to benefit cerulean warblers

Abstract

The central Appalachian landscape is being heavily altered by surface coal mining. The practice of Mountaintop Removal/Valley Fill (MTRVF) mining has transformed large areas of mature forest to non-forest and created much forest edge, affecting habitat quality for mature forest wildlife. The Appalachian Regional Reforestation Initiative is working to restore mined areas to native hardwood forest conditions, and strategies are needed to prioritize restoration efforts for wildlife. We present mineland reforestation guidelines for the imperiled Cerulean Warbler, considered a useful umbrella species, in its breeding range. In 2009, we surveyed forest predicted to have Cerulean Warblers near mined areas in the MTRVF region of West Virginia and Kentucky. We visited 36 transect routes and completed songbird surveys on 151 points along these routes. Cerulean Warblers were present at points with fewer large-scale canopy disturbances and more mature oak-hickory forest. We tested the accuracy of a predictive map for this species and demonstrated that it can be useful to guide reforestation efforts. We then developed a map of hot spot locations that can be used to determine potential habitat suitability. Restoration efforts would have greatest benefit for Cerulean Warblers and other mature forest birds if concentrated near a relativeabundance hot spot, on north-and east-facing ridgetops surrounded by mature deciduous forest, and prioritized to reduce edges and connect isolated forest patches. Our multi-scale approach for prioritizing restoration efforts using an umbrella species may be applied to restore habitat impacted by a variety of landscape disturbances.

Trade-offs relating to grassland and forest mine reclamation approaches in the central Appalachian region and implications for the songbird community

“…Although reclaimed shrublands provide important habitat to many shrubland and young forest species that have been declining throughout the Appalachian region (Schlossberg et al 2010), the slow succession on mines reclaimed with grasses results in very few areas developing woody vegetation. If shrubland or young forest conditions are the desired future condition, then the forest reclamation approach may be a more suitable approach to more quickly develop woody vegetation postreclamation (Zipper et al 2011, McDermott et al 2013).…”

“…Thus, lower abundance of area-sensitive forest species in MTMVF complexes may also result from the fragmentation or complete loss of core forest (Becker et al 2015, Farwell et al 2016, likely because of reduced amounts of intact forest and increased edge. Reclaiming mines using a forest approach may lessen the impacts from mining on the forest bird community by quickly developing young forest and shrubland, which softens habitat edges and increases forest core area (McDermott et al 2013). However, because the forest reclamation approach has been implemented only in recent years and on small acreages, no studies have examined avian response on mined lands reclaimed using the forest reclamation approach.…”

“…However, few studies have reported mining's negative effects on forest bird species (Weakland and Wood 2005, Wood et al 2006, Becker et al 2015 or whether these can be reduced or offset. Despite the limited data relating to the forest approach and the trade-offs for forest birds, the forest reclamation approach nonetheless provides a framework that focuses on reforestation and the return of forest-based ecosystems (Zipper et al 2011, McDermott et al 2013. The decision to reclaim mined lands with either a grassland or forest approach can be based on the suite of species desired for long-term occupancy, but the return of premining bird communities is important to factor into reclamation objectives as well.…”