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Carbon Storage And Cycling Of Reclaimed Mine Soils In Southeastern Kentucky, Alice Jones, Kelly Barber, Peter Acton, James Fox
Carbon Storage And Cycling Of Reclaimed Mine Soils In Southeastern Kentucky, Alice Jones, Kelly Barber, Peter Acton, James Fox
Alice Jones
Since the passage of the Surface Mining and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) in 1977, the most common type of surface mine reclamation is heavy compaction followed by grass seeding. To promote better vegetative recovery after mining, the Appalachian Regional Reforestation Initiative (ARRI) promotes leaving the top four feet of fill material loose and planting a seedling mix of native hardwood trees. This study aims to quantify the effects of the resulting soil bulk densities on decomposition processes through the analysis of carbon storage and cycling in the soil column. Soil carbon storage mechanisms are divided into specific size classes/pools, each corresponding …
Estimates Of Streambank Erosion In A Surface Mined Disturbed Watershed Of Southern Appalachia, Alice Jones, Kelly Foley, Darren Martin, James Fox, Peter Acton, Nathanial Adams
Estimates Of Streambank Erosion In A Surface Mined Disturbed Watershed Of Southern Appalachia, Alice Jones, Kelly Foley, Darren Martin, James Fox, Peter Acton, Nathanial Adams
Alice Jones
Mountaintop coal mining is a debated environmental issue which has a significant influence on Appalachian watersheds, particularly their channel evolution. A major issue related to the mining is the increase in sediment load and transport from increased runoff and streambank erosion during storm events. Estimates of streambank erosion associated with surface mining are important presently because environmental regulations of mining are being reevaluated. This study uses a compartmental streambank erosion model to estimate rates of streambank erosion in an actively mined first-order watershed in Eastern Kentucky. The study site is Island Branch (2.2 km²), a subwatershed of the Line Fork …