The present state of forestry post mining land uses has prompted concern among researchers, landowners, and the public. Surface mines reclaimed to forests under the provision of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) may not achieve site productivity levels required by the law. Anecdotal evidence suggests that many pre-law reforested mined sites are growing productive forests. The purpose of this study was to characterize these forests and the mine soils in which they are growing, and use them to benchmark forest development on mined land. Using 14 mined and 8 non-mined sites in the midwestern and eastern coalfields research to address the following objectives was undertaken: (i) characterize the development, composition, and diversity of woody species on pre-SMCRA, forested surface mined land; (ii) estimate forest and site productivity on surface mined land and determine the soil and site properties most influencing forest growth; (iii) estimate projected rotation-age timber product value; (iv) quantify current carbon sequestration pools associated with the developing woody plant biomass, the forest floor, and developing soil medium; (v) compare the diversity, forest and site productivity, commercial value, and carbon capture of reclaimed mined sites to that of regional non-mined forest systems. Species richness between non-mined and mined sites was about the same within each region with 14 to 15 tree species in the canopy. Canopy richness of eastern mined sites was less than that on midwestern mined sites (12 species compared to 17 species, respectively). Species richness of the understory and woody ground layer were similar between sites planted to pines versus hardwoods. White pine (Pinus strobus) monocultures, planted on many sites in the eastern region, caused species unevenness throughout all forest strata. Midwestern mined sites and eastern sites planted to hardwoods closely approximated non-mined sites in commercial species composition. Planted species represented the majority of canopy layer dominance and abundance (82% relative dominance and 56% relative abundance). Site productivity between non-mined sites and 12 of the 14 mined sites was similar. Regression analysis identified the five most influential soil properties affecting site quality, which included soil profile base saturation, total coarse fragments, total available water, C horizon total porosity, and soil profile electrical conductivity. These five properties explained 52 % of the variation in tree growth. Forest productivity of these mined sites was equal to or greater than that of non-mined forests, ranging between 3.3 m3ha-1yr-1 and 12.1 m3ha-1yr-1. Management activities such as planting pine and valuable hardwood species increased the stumpage value of forests on reclaimed mine sites. Rotation-age stumpage values on mined study sites ranged between $3,064 ha-1 and $19,528 ha-1 and were commonly greater than stumpage values on non-mined reference sites. After 20 to 55 years, total site carbon levels on mined study sites averaged 217 Mg ha-1, while total carbon amounts on natural sites averaged 285 Mg ha-1. The amounts of carbon captured within the plant biomass and litter layer were the same on mined and natural sites. However, the soil carbon content of mined sites averaged 39 % lower than natural soils. The amount of carbon captured across mined sites was largely a function of forest stand age. Pre-SMCRA forests growing on mined sites with productivity levels similar to non-mined sites are capable of developing forest attributes comparable to or greater than those found on non-mined land within a period of 60 years, the length of a commercial hardwood rotation. These mature forests can serve as benchmarks for forest development on mined lands being reclaimed under current state and federal regulations. / Master of Science

Public Law 95-87, the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA), mandates that mined land be reclaimed in a fashion that renders the land at least as productive after mining as it was before mining. In the central Appalachian region, where prime farmland and economic development opportunities for mined land are scarce, the most practical land use choices are hayland/pasture, wildlife habitat, or forest land. Since 1977, the majority of mined land has been reclaimed as hayland/pasture or wildlife habitat, which is less expensive to reclaim than forest land, since there are no tree planting costs. As a result, there are now hundreds of thousands of hectares of grasslands and scrublands in various stages of natural succession located throughout otherwise forested mountains in the U.S. The purpose of this study is to develop a framework for understanding/calculating the economic implications of converting these reclaimed mined lands to forests under various silvicultural regimes, and to demonstrate the economic/decision-making implications of an incentive scheme on such a land use conversion. The economic feasibility of a range of land-use conversion scenarios was analyzed for both mixed hardwoods and white pine, under a set of low product prices and under a set of high product prices. Economic feasibility was based on land expectation values. Further, three types of incentive schemes were investigated: 1) lump sum payment at planting (and equivalent series of annual payments), 2) revenue incentive at harvest and 3) payment based on carbon volume. Mixed hardwood LEVs ranged from -$2416.71/ha (low prices) to $3955.72/ha (high prices). White pine LEVs ranged from -$2330.43/ha (low prices) to $3746.65/ha (high prices). A greater percentage of white pine scenarios yielded economically feasible land-use conversions than did the mixed hardwood scenarios, and it seems that a conversion to white pine forests would, for the most part, be the more appealing option. It seems that, for both mixed hardwoods and white pine, it would be in the best interests of the landowner to invest in the highest quality sites first. For a conversion to mixed hardwood forests, a low intensity level of site preparation seems economically optimal for most scenarios. For a conversion to white pine forests, a medium intensity level of site preparation seems economically optimal for most scenarios. Mixed hardwoods lump sum payments, made at the time of planting, ranged from $0/ha to $2416.71/ha (low prices). White pine lump sum payments, made at the time of planting, ranged from $0/ha to $2330.53/ha (low prices). Mixed hardwoods benefits based on an increase in revenue at harvest, ranged from $0/ha to $784449.52/ha (low prices). White pine benefits based on an increase in revenue at harvest ranged from $0/ha to $7011.48/ha (high prices). Annual mixed hardwood benefits, based on total stand carbon volume present at the end of a given year, ranged from $0/ton of carbon to $5.26/ton carbon (low prices). White pine benefits based on carbon volume ranged from $0/ton of carbon to $18.61/ton of carbon (high prices). It appears that, for white pine scenarios, there is not much difference between incentive values for lump sum payments at planting, revenue incentives at harvest, and total carbon payments over a rotation. For mixed hardwoods, however, it appears that the carbon payment incentive is by far the cheapest option of encouraging landowners to convert land. / Master of Science