Appalachia Project: Progress and plans
Kentucky’s Appalachian Mountain region has an extensive area of land used for coal extraction. In eastern Kentucky, mountaintop removal mining has become the primary method for coal extraction. In Eastern USA, forest landscapes are the predominant areas for land mining activities and these activities have caused significant forest fragmentation, loss of productive forest land (Drummond & Loveland, 2010), biodiversity loss, soil erosion, and loss of ecosystem services (Sonter et al., 2017; Murguía et al., 2016). More than 1.1 million ha of forest land and 2000 km of streams have been impacted in the commonwealth of Kentucky due to mining activities (Barton, 2011; Bernhardt & Palmer, 2011).
The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA) is the first comprehensive federal law regulating the consequences of coal mining on the environment nationally (U.S. Department of the Interior, 2021). The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 requires all mining companies to reclaim the mined land to its ‘approximate original contour’ that can be useful for agriculture, forest, industry, and other land use.
The post-mining land uses acceptable in the US are hay land and pasture, forestry, wildlife habitat, farmland, and building site developments (Skousen & Zipper, 2014). In Appalachia regions, forests have been the most preferred post-mining land use option (Angel et al., 2009).
Kentucky’s reclaimed mine land properties provide opportunities for long-term study of various tenets of the agroecosystem, soil, water, microclimate, biomass change, and carbon sequestration dynamics. Understanding interactions among soil, water, air, and biomass at various temporal and spatial scales is imperative for ensuring ecosystem resilience and sustainable local and regional food production systems. The goal of this research project is to understand changes in soil, water vegetation, and microclimate attributes and their relationship with the health and productivity of local agroecosystems.
Clifford Smith has provided his more than 7,000-acre reclaimed mine lands to Kentucky State University for research purposes.
Vegetation growth monitoring using vegetation indices
Vegetation growth monitoring is an important parameter to study the progress of reclamation activities especially reforestation in reclaimed mining areas. NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) is one of the most important indices used to monitor vegetation growth. This study was conducted in mining sites that are reclaimed in different years using Landsat imageries. Based on this index, greenness represents robust and healthy growth of vegetation which is clearly visible in the images.
Study of Tea cultivation possibility in reclaimed mine sites in Appalachia region
This study was conducted in Appalachia region of Kentucky as well as the reclaimed mine sites. Various factors were considered to model the suitability of tea cultivation such as temperature, rainfall, soil fertility, slope gradient, and vegetation status. Based on these variables, study area was categorized in to different suitability classes for tea cultivation. This study opens new arena of research in these areas. Tea cultivation helps in soil erosion control and adds organic matter. Tea could be one of the potential source for reclamation of mining areas.
Soil and biomass sample collection
A week-long intensive soil and biomass sample collection was conducted in reclaimed mine sites to develop benchmark data for different parameters of soil fertility status and biomass. Soil from three different layers (0-5 inch, 5-10 inch, and 10-15 inch) was collected that includes 42 sampling points. Sampling points were generated carefully to make them representative of the area and include grasslands, bare soil, tree-planted areas, etc.
Biomass sampling areas were selected based on cattle grazing and autumn olive plantation. Area 1 is reclaimed, undisturbed, had autumn olive removed, and no cattle grazing, area 2 is reclaimed, undisturbed, had autumn olive removed, but has had 5 years of cattle grazing and area 3 is reclaimed, undisturbed, limited autumn olive, and no cattle grazing.
Upcoming research plan
1) Water quality research
Mining activities have severely impacted the watershed surrounding mining areas. Leaching of harmful toxic chemicals, acid drainage, and sedimentation in water sources are major impacts of mining. It is necessary to understand these effects to develop a way to reduce the impact of mining on water resources.