Characteristics of bird communities on surface mine lands in Pennsylvania

Abstract

/ A variety of species was observed as either visitors, permanent, or summer residents on surface mines with different ecological adaptations. Passerine species were the most prevalent of the 25 families represented. Bird communities as well as individual species were correlated with the structure and species of vegetation on the mines. The composition of the bird communities changed in response to successional vegetation stages from grassland to forest communities.Open-pit or surface mining for coal has destroyed habitats usually associated with abundant and diverse bird communities. The restoration of these lands has generally been undertaken without regard to restoring plant diversity or bird community habitats. Studies in Pennsylvania (Brenner 1973(Brenner , 1974(Brenner , 1978a(Brenner , 1978b others 1975, 1977), Ohio (Riley 1954;DeCapita and Brookhout 1975), and Illinois (Klimstra and others 1963) indicate that these restored mining lands offer considerable potential as habitats for birds and other wildlife. Surface mines provide a variety of habitats including grasslands and various transitional communities within the geographical areas of the mine. It is generally believed that habitat diversity is an essential element in attracting and maintaining bird communities (Welty 1962). Procedures used in reclaiming surface mines determine the degree of habitat diversity, thereby either improving or reducing suitability of these areas for birds. Studies in West Virginia indicated that the restoration of surface mines as grasslands within forest communities provided habitats for species that were not common to the region immediately prior to mining (Whitmore 1978). This study investigates the effects that different types of reclamation of surface mines of various ages have on establishing bird communities. Study AreaMercer County is a total area of 176,380 ha located in northwestern Pennsylvania, approximately midway between Pittsburgh and Erie (Figure 1). Surface mining began in Mercer County after World War II, reaching a peak between 1950 and 1960. The total mine area is in excess of 2,023 ha, or approximately one percent of the total land area of the county. Mining activity has increased within the last five years; six surface mines are currently operating within the county. Surface mines in Mercer County are characterized by soils consisting of Brenner (1973Brenner ( , 1974Brenner ( , 1978b and Brenner and others (1975) into four basic plant types: coniferous, deciduous, mixed coniferous and deciduous, and grasslands, with the coniferous type being the least frequent. The coniferous group is usually found on mines over 20 years of age and includes white pine (Pinus strobus), red pine (Pinus resinosa), Virginia pine (Pinus vir~iniana), scotch pine (Pinus sylvestris), larch (Larix laricana), and red and black spruce (Picea rubens and Picea mariana) as the common species. The deciduous group is composed primarily of quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides), red maple (Acer rubrum), and black cherry (Prunus...

Abundance and species richness of birds in mined and non-mined sites of the Jos Plateau, Nigeria.

“…Other studies have even shown densities to be higher in non-mined areas than mined areas (Brenner & Kelly, 1981;Krementz & Sauer, 1982). Overall richness, or number of species counted in each site, was greater in the mined area than the non-mined area, agreeing with Brenner & Kelly (1981) who observed a change in avian species as the vegetation successional stage changed, therefore increasing species richness on the overall area.on a 20-year-old reclamation site. Bergon et al, (1996) reported that disturbance created by mining and the changes in vegetation structure encourage habitat heterogeneity where new ecological niches are created such as the wetlands and species richness is increased.…”

Boundary Form Effects on Woody Colonization of Reclaimed Surface Mines

“…Our results indicate that a manager can direct the natural succession of a reclaimed strip mine or other open area by manipulating the boundary form at the scale of tens of metres. Articulating the boundary into a series of concavities and convexities should accelerate succession, increase patchiness of woody plants, augment the area of edge, enhance wildlife habitat, and increase landscape diversity (McCaffer and Creed 1969, Kimmel and Samuel 1978, Brenner and Kelly 1981, Debussche et al 1982, Romme and Knight 1982, McDonnell and Stiles 1983, Burrows 1984.…”

Integrating Riparian Restoration to Promote Wildlife Habitat With Natural Stream Channel Design on Mine Land Habitats

“…In southern West Virginia, Crawford et al (1978) found that the most bird species were found on unmined sites and sites mined 8 years earlier and the highest avian abundance was found on the site mined 9 years earlier. Brenner and Kelly (1981) found that the composition of bird communities changed with successional stages ranging from grassland to forest communities on reclaimed sites. Urbanek and Klimstra (1986) studied bird diversity on surface-mined lands in southern Illinois and concluded that habitat diversity and edge were the most important factors contributing to diversity of bird life.…”