Properties and Genesis of Minesoils on Sites Mined for Bakerstown and Upper Freeport Coals1

Abstract

Abstract:Appalachian Corridor H will pass through Beaver Creek watershed in Tucker County, West Virginia. This is a sensitive area because numerous wetlands and reclaimed mined lands are located in the vicinity of the proposed highway. The West Virginia Division of Highways funded a project to assess the effects of the highway on the watershed. The two major coal beds in the watershed were Bakerstown, a member of the Conemaugh Formation, and Upper Freeport, a member of the Allegheny Formation. Bakerstown was mined and reclaimed in the 1970s, and Upper Freeport was mined and reclaimed in the 1960s. The dominant vegetation on the Bakerstown sites was grasses and legumes with scattered trees, while Upper Freeport sites were uniformly covered with red pine (Pinus resinosa Ait.). In order to document the existing conditions prior to the construction of the highway, a study was initiated to evaluate the properties and genesis of minesoils in the watershed. Six minesoil sampling points were located on Bakerstown sites and six were located on Upper Freeport sites. In addition, six sampling points were located on contiguous native soils. Soil profiles were described and horizons were sampled for laboratory physical and chemical analyses. The native soils were well drained to very poorly drained Inceptisols or Ultisols developed in alluvium or colluvium. Three of the six sampling points had fragipans. Minesoils developing on the Bakerstown sites had A horizons ranging from 3 to 16 cm thick. Sola of these soils ranged in thickness from 15 to 49 cm. Five of the six points had sola ranging from 15 to 33 cm thick. Minesoils on the Upper Freeport sites had A horizons that were 4 to 11 cm thick. Five of the six sampling points had sola ranging from 9 to 35 cm thick. One point had an uncommonly thick solum with Bw horizons described to 99 cm. Minesoils on both sites were classified as Entisols and Inceptisols. Although the depth of minesoil sola forming on the Upper Freeport and the Bakerstown sites was similar, fewer horizons were described per profile in Bakerstown minesoils. We attributed this horizonation difference to differences in parent materials. The rock fragments in Bakerstown minesoils were predominantly sandstones, whereas rock fragments in the Upper Freeport minesoils were a mixture of shale and sandstone.