Enhancement of Terrestrial Carbon Sinks through Reclamation of Abandoned Mine Lands in the Appalachians
Project # 40931

Primary Performing Organization
Stephen F. Austin State University

The rise in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂) and other greenhouse gases associated with global warming requires new and better ways to sequester CO₂.  Terrestrial ecosystems are recognized as a major means of removing CO₂ from the atmosphere.  This project will determine how to increase carbon sequestration in forests, while increasing forest yields and providing other ecosystem benefits.

Together, an increase in abandoned mine land reclamation and improved forest management can provide financial and environmental benefits.  Growing forests can generate revenue, create jobs, and improve local economies.  Adding more trees can reduce the negative effects of global warming by effectively storing carbon within trees, improving air and water quality, reducing soil erosion, and increasing recreational opportunities.  Since reclaimed mined lands are largely devoid of soil carbon, they are receptive to the sequestration of carbon in both soils and vegetation.  While most strip mining areas in the eastern U.S. are restored as grasslands, much more carbon is stored in forestland on an acre-to-acre basis.  This project has observed that within the Appalachian coal region alone there are up to 400,000 hectares of abandoned mined lands with little or no vegetation.  Reclamation and forestation of these sites has the potential to sequester large quantities of carbon in terrestrial ecosystems.  See Map of Abandoned Mine Lands in Appalachia.

The objectives of this project are to:

• Determine the profitability of forest management in the Appalachian region when only timber is considered, and when both timber and carbon credits are considered.
• Determine optimal forest management schedules using Forest Management Optimizer, a combination of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service’s growth and yield models, and dynamic and economic programs used to simulate tree growth under various conditions.
• Determine the amount of carbon that can be sequestered on abandoned mine lands and other ecosystems throughout the U.S.

Contact:
Project Manager:  John Litynski, john.litynski@netl.doe.gov

Related Papers and Publications:

• Reclamation of Mine Lands Fact Sheet (pdf)