Vegetation influences near-surface hydrological characteristics on a surface coal mine in eastern USA

Abstract

Mining processes alter natural landscapes worldwide, and methods for restoration of mined areas are widely studied. Establishment of vegetation is essential to mined land restoration. Prior research has addressed vegetative influence on erosion and runoff, but effects of vegetation type on surface hydrologic processes are less studied. We measured infiltration rates and observed subsurface flow paths in mine soils on a reforested area and a grassed area on a former surface coal mine in the eastern United States. The two areas were constructed and reclaimed fourteen years prior to our study using processes similar in all aspects except vegetation. MiniDisk tension infiltrometers and Brilliant Blue FCF dye staining analyses were utilized to evaluate near-surface flow processes in the vegetated mine soils. Mean infiltration rates were 16.

Establishing Pine Monocultures and Mixed Pine-Hardwood Stands on Reclaimed Surface Mined Land in Eastern Kentucky: Implications for Forest Resilience in a Changing Climate

“…Loblolly pine is more tolerant of poorly drained soils than shortleaf pine [37]. Large portions of the project site exhibited poor drainage and even standing water (which can frequently be the case on these sites [52,53]), suggesting that overall soil moisture conditions may be more favorable for loblolly pine than shortleaf pine. Chemically, soils were favorable across treatments, with pH, particle size distribution, nutrient levels, and CEC similar to those observed on soils favorable for tree growth and survival in another eastern Kentucky study [6].…”

Electrical resistivity imaging of hydrologic flow through surface coal mine valley fills with comparison to other landforms

“…For the investigated valley fill, our data suggest that the upper layers are largely composed of small compacted rock fragments with increasing boulder size and void space at depth (Chong and Cowsert, ; Potter, Carter, & Doll, ; Guebert & Gardner, ; Miller & Zégre, ; Clark & Zipper, ). Heterogeneities occur within each layer (upper and lower), for example, the upper layer may contain rocks from 10 −5 to 10 −2 m in diameter, whereas the lower layer may have boulders from 10 −2 to >1.0 m in diameter (Figure ; Anterrieu et al, ).…”

The Forestry Reclamation Approach: Measuring Sediment Mass Accumulation Rates in Reclaimed Mine Lands and Naturally Regenerated Logged Forests of Eastern Kentucky

“…This use of groundcover commonly decreases water infiltration (Clark and Zipper 2016;Bohrer et al 2017) and prevents the establishment of plant species with deep root systems that can reduce soil compaction (Angel et al 2006;Martin 2006). Soil compaction has the potential to decrease the available nutrients and water that plants can uptake, depending on the soil grain sizes present (Arvidsson 1999).…”