PS 42-39 - Five-year assessment of the effectiveness of the Forestry Reclamation Approach on an anthracite mine in northeastern Pennsylvania

Background/Question/Methods

In 2017, a five-acre section of an anthracite mine previously reclaimed with grasses and forbs was recontoured and replanted following the Forest Reclamation Approach (FRA). The site was located in the Avondale section of Plymouth, Pennsylvania, 8.8 km west of Wilkes-Barre. The property represents the northernmost FRA site in the United States. Five-thousand native tree seedlings were planted in April 2017. Beginning in fall, 2017, the success of the reforestation effort was monitored within forty-two 10m x 10m permanent quadrats arrayed throughout the site. Trees planted and subsequently monitored included Castanea X Dentata, Pinus strobus, Populus tremuloides, Quercus alba, Quercus prinus, and Quercus rubra. Survival and growth of all woody plants were assessed annually within some or all of the plots depending on the year. Complete censuses were made in 2018 and 202l. Within each quadrat, seedlings were given specific X and Y coordinates for future reference. Data collected for each seedling within each quadrat included survival, height, microtopographic location (ridge/swale/flat/slope), and predation status. The data were then compiled to analyze growth rates of species between microtopographic location of seedlings with their survival, growth rates, and predation.

Results/Conclusions

Plots typically contained 7-20 saplings. Pinus strobus and Populus tremuloides were the dominant species encountered, while the Castanea and Quercus species had fewer individuals, reflecting initial planting patterns. Survival of all species exceeded 90%, and individuals of all species showed appreciable growth. In particular, many individuals of P. tremuloides grew from < 0.3 m tall in 2018 to >2 m tall in 2021, effectively converting the site from a rocky meadow to a tall shrubland. In addition to the success of the planted species, we observed plots into which other species - particularly Robinia pseudoacacia and Rhus typhina colonized - often in stem densities too high to record. Thus, after five years, the FRA conducted at the Avondale site appears successful, indicating that it is a viable reclamation strategy to use in the anthracite coal fields of northeastern Pennsylvania.