Surface coal mining in Appalachia has caused extensive replacement of forest with non-forested land cover, much of which is unmanaged and unproductive. Although forested ecosystems are valued by society for both marketable products and ecosystem services, forests have not been restored on most Appalachian mined lands because traditional reclamation practices, encouraged by regulatory policies, created conditions poorly suited for reforestation. Reclamation scientists have studied productive forests growing on older mine sites, established forest vegetation experimentally on recent mines, and identified mine reclamation practices that encourage forest vegetation re-establishment. Based on these findings, they developed a Forestry Reclamation Approach (FRA) that can be employed by coal mining firms to restore forest vegetation. Scientists and mine regulators, working collaboratively, have communicated the FRA to the coal industry and to regulatory enforcement personnel. Today, the FRA is used routinely by many coal mining firms, and thousands of mined hectares have been reclaimed to restore productive mine soils and planted with native forest trees. Reclamation of coal mines using the FRA is expected to restore these lands' capabilities to provide forest-based ecosystem services, such as wood production, atmospheric carbon sequestration, wildlife habitat, watershed protection, and water quality protection to a greater extent than conventional reclamation practices.

m Surface mining poses a significant threat to the Appalachian region via forest loss and fragmentation. Reclamation methods that utilize heavy grading to prevent landslides and erosion create a compacted landscape that is not suitable for forest establishment or growth. Overburden materials derived from differing geologic strata can exhibit large variation in physical, chemical, and mineralogical properties. Determining whicb strata should be used for creating a rooting medium for successful reforestation is not well established. Twelve 0.2-ha plots composed of either segregated brown sandstone, gray sandstone, sbale, or a sandstone-shale mixture (four treatments; n = 3) were created on a surface mine in eastern Kentucky using a low-compaction reclamation method. Each plot was planted with native hardwood tree seedlings following the Forestry Reclamation Approach. After two growing seasons, brown sandstone treatments had four times greater extractable P (Mehlich III) and five times greater total N than the other treatments. This helped contribute to greater tree growth on brown sandstone treatments. Spoil settling was faster in the shale treatments due to the loss of carbonate cements. Clay contents and 2:1 minerals were also greater in the whole soil of the shale treatments, leading to greater plant-available water and a greater cation exchange capacity. Gray sandstone treatments exhibited alkaline conditions (pH :: 8.8) that suppressed tree growth. The mixing of brown sandstone and shale overburdens may produce a suitable combination of higher fertility, water holding capacity, and faster settling in reclaimed mine environments.Abbreviations: CEC, cation exchange capacity; FRA, Forestry Reclamation Approach.T he Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA) requires the restoration of post-mining land use capability to a level "equal to or better than" that which preceded mining. Surface-mined lands in Appalachia were forested before mining but are often reclaimed to pasture. One reason for this change in land use is that the reclamation practices under SMCRA tend to inhibit tree growth. Impediments to forest growth under SMCRA includes: (i) excessive compaction of the spoil, (ii) unsuitable or sometimes toxic rooting material, and (iii) competition for nutrients and water by aggressive and often invasive herbaceous species that are planted to establish ground cover (Angel et al., 2005;Burger et al., 2005a;Rodrigue and Burger, 2004). The spoil medium effects on tree growth, tree species not suited to site conditions, and improper tree planting techniques are often problems associated with reclaimed lands. Realizing the significance of these problems, regulatory, mining, and research groups coordinated efforts to restore forests across the region. As a result, a five-step system to reforest coal-mined land, called the Forestry Reclamation Approach (FRA), was developed based on 80 yr of research. The steps of FRA are: (i) create a suitable 1.2-m-deep rooting medium for Soil Sei. Soc.

Surface mining is a common method for extracting coal in the coal fields of eastern Kentucky. Using the Forestry Reclamation Approach (FRA), which emphasizes the use of minimally compacted or loose-dumped spoil as a growth medium for trees, reclamation practitioners are successfully reestablishing forests. Yet, questions remain regarding the effects FRA has on the quality of waters discharged to receiving streams. To examine the effect of FRA on water quality, this study compared waters that were discharged from three types of spoils: predominantly brown, weathered sandstone (BROWN); predominantly gray, unweathered sandstone (GRAY); and an equal mixture of both aforementioned sandstones and shale (MIXED). The water quality parameters pH, EC, Ca, K, Mg, Na, NO-N, NH-N, SO, Cl, TC, suspended sediment concentration (SSC), settleable solids (SS), and turbidity were monitored over a 2-yr period on six 0.4-ha plots (two replications per spoil type). Generally, levels of Cl, SO, Ca, NO-N, NH-N, SS, SSC, and turbidity decreased over time. The pH for all spoils increased from about 7.5 to 8.5. The EC remained relatively level in the BROWN spoil, whereas the GRAY and MIXED spoils had downward trajectories that were approaching 500 μS cm. The value of 500 μS cm has been reported as the apparent threshold at which certain taxa such as Ephemeroptera (e.g., Mayfly) recolonize disturbed headwater streams of eastern Kentucky and adjacent coal-producing Appalachian states.

Six research plots were established on a surface mine for the purpose of evaluating the forest productivity potential and hydrological and water quality characteristics of three different loose-graded spoil types. The three spoil types were: (1) predominately brown, weathered sandstone (BROWN); (2) predominately gray, un-weathered sandstone (GRAY); and (3) mixed weathered and un-weathered sandstones and shale material (MIXED). The average area of the six plots was approximately 3,658 m 2 . The physical and chemical soil characteristics that gave the BROWN spoil type a predictably higher productivity potential and natural regeneration than the GRAY and MIXED spoil were its finer soil texture, higher CEC and P concentration, and a pH that was more suitable for native hardwood trees. Four species of tree seedlings were planted into the spoils. Growth and survival of the planted trees were evaluated for three years. As an indicator of natural succession potential, percentage ground cover of volunteer vegetation on the three spoil types was also evaluated. By the third year (2007) after planting, the BROWN spoil type had a significantly higher average tree volume index than the MIXED spoil and MIXED was significantly higher than GRAY. Ground cover from natural regeneration was found to be 66.4% on the BROWN spoil (61 different species), 5.8% on the MIXED spoil (35 different species), and less than 2.0% on the GRAY spoil (12 different species). Results showed that the loose-graded spoil in this experiment was characterized by low discharge volumes, small peak discharges, and long durations of discharge and had hydrologic characteristics of a forested watershed, even at this early stage of development. Generally, concentrations of Ca, Mg, and SO 4 2-decreased over time in GRAY and MIXED and increased in BROWN. The pH of the water discharge from all three spoil types has increased from about 7.5 to 8.5. Although the average electrical conductivity (EC) in water discharged from the BROWN spoil remained relatively level during the study period, the GRAY and MIXED appears to be on a downward trajectory from about 1500 µS cm -1 to about 500 µS cm -1 . The latter value of EC has been reported as the apparent threshold at which the benthic invertebrate community returns to drastically disturbed headwater streams of eastern Kentucky and adjacent coal-producing Appalachian states.

Surface mining has altered a vast land area in the Appalachian Region, threatening highly biodiverse native forest, contributing to habitat fragmentation, and generating severely disturbed sites that are unsuitable for succession to native ecosystems. Although there are many factors that influence species colonization and establishment on these sites, selection of topsoil substitutes suitable for native species is of particular concern. A series of experimental plots was installed in 2005 on a reclaimed mine site in eastern Kentucky, United States, to examine the suitability of three spoil types (unweathered GRAY sandstone, weathered BROWN sandstone, and MIXED sandstone/shale) as topsoil substitutes. Bareroot 1:0 seedlings of four native hardwood species (Fraxinus pennsylvanica, Quercus rubra, Q. alba, and Liriodendron tulipifera) were planted in the spoil. Seed required for ground cover was not applied so that natural colonization could be evaluated. Two years after installation, researchers concluded that tree growth was highest on BROWN; in addition, species richness and ground cover of volunteer vegetation were higher on BROWN. In 2013, tree volume was over 50 times higher in BROWN than GRAY. In addition to planted hardwoods, naturally colonizing vegetation provided nearly 100% cover on BROWN compared to 20% on MIXED and less than 10% on GRAY plots. Species richness of volunteer vegetation continued to be higher on BROWN (41) than GRAY (30) or MIXED (30), with native species comprising 65–70% of total species richness on all plots. Findings suggest that when topsoil substitutes are used, weathered spoils are more favorable to reforestation than unweathered spoil.