Climate Change and Invasive Species: Challenges and Opportunities for Forest Establishment on Appalachian Surface Mines

Climate change and harsh environmental conditions present significant barriers to the reforestation of surface-mined sites in Appalachia. An experimental site was established on a reclaimed surface mine in eastern Kentucky to investigate the impacts of soil amendments (fertilizer additions and mycorrhizal inoculations) on the growth and survival of northern red oak and loblolly pine, and the effects of amendments and species planted on soil development. While early effects of soil fertility and mycorrhizae treatments were apparent, these did not affect the growth or survival of either species after 10 growing seasons. Overall, loblolly pine exhibited greater growth (7.6 m) and survival (58%) than northern red oak (1.8 m height growth and 39% survival). While the poor growth and survival of northern red oak were attributed to heavy vegetative competition from nonnative species, loblolly pine rapidly achieved canopy closure and shaded out competitive understory vegetation. This study documents that non-native loblolly pine may serve as an important pioneering tree species in reforestation of reclaimed mine sites by potentially outcompeting invasive exotic understory plant species. We speculate that, by suppressing invasive species, loblolly pine may have the potential to serve as a “nurse tree” for more economically and ecologically desirable hardwood species.