Vegetative Community Development over 30 Years within Mixed Pine-Hardwood Mine Reclamation sites in east Texas

Abstract

The practice of mine reclamation aims to balance the energy needs of society with proactive environmental restoration of degraded land, and long-term studies of vegetative community development on reclaimed mine land have been invaluable in developing effective reclamation practices. This study investigated vegetative community characteristics (composition, richness, species importance) over a 30-year time frame in planted mixed pine-hardwood areas on reclaimed surface coal mine land in East Texas, United States. Reclaimed sites were compared vegetatively to unmined reference forests. A chronological pattern was shown for reclaimed community development in both understory and overstory strata. Understory community development exhibited natural patterns, while the overstory community varied with different groups of planted species. The older reclaimed sites were most similar to unmined reference sites. Dissimilarities between mined and unmined communities were also apparent; for example, the woody vine community of reference sites was much more substantial in midstory and overstory strata as compared to reclaimed sites. Overall, this study provided baseline ecological information about these plant communities that may assist land managers and researchers in furthering their development of reclamation techniques and attainment of reclamation goals. Additional