Treesearch

While fifteen years ago we depended on trees as the primary tool of reclamation, today regulators, based on soil loss studies, have determined that trees are not sufficient to prevent erosion by themselves. This is particularly true during the first 10-15 years after mining. While ten (10) years ago most permits listed forest as a postmining land use, today only ten (10) percent o f our permits contain forest land as a postmining land use and a good many of those may modify their reclamation plan to eliminate the trees these plans now contain.

Other members of this panel are going to reveal the basic statistics about the coal strip mining industry in Ohio so I will confine my remarks to the revegetation of the spoil banks. So it doesn't appear that Ohio confined its tree planting efforts to spoil banks alone, I will rely on a few statistics.

The State Division of Forestry has been actively concerned with mined land reclamation for 25 years. The results show that successful introduction of forest tree seedlings can be carried out on those areas that require revegetation. Early experimental work has assisted in developing standards and procedures for reforestation work on these lands. Cooperative efforts between the Division of Forestry and the Division of Mined Land Reclamation and other State resource agencies has resulted in excellent field cooperation and applied techniques.

Trees provided the coal surface mining industry with a means of restoring the land's productivity at a minimum expense. Trees may still be included in the reclamation plan but tree planting in Ohio was drastically reduced by the 1972 Ohio Surface Mining and Reclamation Law. The basic reasons are categorized as technical, social and economic. The revegetation phase of coal surface mined land is most vital to successful reclamation and hopefully trees will continue to contribute to such success.

Fruit trees were planted successfully in 1918 and organized afforestation began in 1928. Professional foresters had a hand in some of the very earliest planting projects. Formal reclamation research played an important role in applying science to early reclamation technology; however, considerable work has preceded the scientists. Some success has been experienced with tree planting on coal waste slurry, a problem site with uniquely adverse conditions. Some indications were found showing early Chinese Chestnut tree plantings developing into timber form trees, under some conditions. It was...

Direct seeding, an attractive alternative to planting, is not a simple method of forestation. Past experiences show far more failures than successes. Well documented procedures must be followed to insure any degree of success. In general, conifers have given the best results. Black walnut and black locust are notable exceptions. Current research suggests that other hardwoods may be successfully direct-seeded.

Twenty-eight tree species have grown successfully on surface-mined lands in the Central States. Variability in species performance can be related to geographic area, type of rooting medium, and associated species. Many planted stands have been vigorously invaded by volunteer trees, as well as by other plants and animals.

Surface mining is changing the landscape character of forests in the East. Aesthetic visual aspects of the landscape are considered in the analysis, planning, and design of revegetation strategies. Application of landscape architectural design techniques in the revegetation of surface-mined lands, as well as knowledge of biological characteristics, will enhance the visual character of the mined landscape.

Herbaceous cover is required for erosion control on surface-mined lands even where forests are to be established. Where planted with trees, herbaceous species usually cause an increase in tree seedling mortality and retard tree growth, especially in the first few years after planting. Trees seem to be affected most by competition for moisture because their survival is least affected where spring and summer precipitation is abundant. Tree survival often is reduced most by dense stands of some legumes, especially crownvetch, flatpea, and sericea lespedeza; but in some plantings, growth of...

The influence of soil properties, legal requirements, and economics on postmining land use is described, and enterprise budgets are prepared to demonstrate procedures for evaluating forest and pastureland alternatives. A comparison of cow-calf operations with hybrid poplar and black walnut plantations suggests that a combination of pastureland and black walnut plantations will achieve the highest rates of return on investment.