Early Successional Processes of Experimentally-Reclaimed Mine Sites in Eastern Ohio and the Restoration of American Chestnut

Surface mining for coal represents one of the most severe and extensive forms of disturbance throughout the Appalachian region of the Eastern Deciduous Forest. Federal law has required reclamation of mined sites to mitigate environmental hazards since the late 1970s. However, the methods typically utilized do not allow for a return to the forest cover found on these sites prior to mining. New reclamation methods have been proposed that aim to expedite a return to native forest cover through the use of compactionreducing soil-preparation methods. One of the major components of the Eastern Deciduous Forest, prior to its demise due to an introduced pathogen, was the American chestnut ( Castanea dentata). The original extent of the American chestnut and the Appalachian coal fields are nearly concurrent, possibly making these experimentallyreclaimed sites ideal for restoration plantings of disease-resistant chestnut hybrids. The work here has been conducted on an experimentally-reclaimed mine site in Belmont County Ohio, and attempts to shed light on two broad questions: 1) What can be expected during restoration plantings of American chestnuts on experimentally-reclaimed mine lands, and 2) What types of plant communities are becoming established on these sites during the initial natural colonization phase of succession that is occurring there? I found 4 effects of distance from the remnant site forest edge, microtopographic position, the amount of existing vegetation cover at the site, and a small set of soil chemical variables to influence the success of American chestnut establishment. In addition to the physical environment, the hybrid nature of restoration chestnuts and how traits characteristic of each parental lineage in the hybrid offspring may be related to success on this site. The plant communities naturally developing during early succession at the site differ significantly among a set of microtopographic positions specific to this type of reclamation, possibly due to the soil physical properties unique to each position. The spatial distribution of naturally-colonizing woody species also differs in relation to the same set of microtopographic positions as well as species identity, edge distance, and possibly competition. The results of this work make an important contribution to the current understanding of the use of the experimental Forestry Reclamation Approach method in mine land reclamation, effects of anthropogenic disturbance and natural recovery processes on the landscape, as well as how well chestnut restoration will contribute to reclamation.