Survival, growth and biomass accumulation of 19 year-old trees planted on an Appalachian surface mine site were evaluated to determine the effect of spoil grading and surface amendment treatments. Three spoil grading treatments (loose-dump, strike-off and graded control) were established to create a range of operationally feasible spoil compaction capable of impacting tree establishment and growth. Likewise, three surface amendment treatments (straw/manure mulch, hardwood bark mulch and control) were applied to determine their effects on tree development. Trees grown under low-compaction grading treatment levels (strike-off and loose-dump) consistently outperformed trees planted in a high-compaction control treatment. Loose-dump preparation resulted in higher survival for five of six tree species and greater biomass in three species for which this metric was estimated. Strike-off preparation resulted in higher diameter at breast height (DBH) values. The addition of straw/manure surface amendment increased biomass for hardwood species for which this value was estimated. Volunteer woody vegetation growing in the same experimental plots was measured and characterized by species. Loose-dump plots exhibited highest overall volunteer stem and native stem density and compacted control plots had lowest volunteer stem density and lowest proportion of native stems. Strike-off plots exhibited intermediate values for both of these measures.

A greater emphasis is being placed on hardwood management, yet there has been relatively little effort to develop growth and yield information for hardwood forest types. Measurements on permanent growth and yield plots collected in 1981, 1988, 1994, and 2006 in minor stream bottoms in Mississippi and Alabama were used to construct a stand level growth and yield model for red oak/sweetgum stands. The model predicts arithmetic mean diameter, quadratic mean diameter, trees per acre, basal area, total tree height, and cubic foot volume per acre for the total stand and by species. Different sets of equations were constructed depending on the amount of information known about a hardwood stand. Models were chosen based on significance of variables, coefficient of determination, index of fit, and biological trends. Predicted stand development patterns are discussed. These models will be base models for a complete diameter distribution growth and yield model.