The Appalachian Blue Ridge Forest system is the second most biodiverse forest system in North America outside of Mexico. The biodiversity of the Appalachian Forest is home to roughly 150 different tree species, covering 61,500 miles and twelve States in the US. However, mineral mining has drastically altered more than more than 1 million acres of land in Appalachia.
  • Track_ShovelEnglish
    2·
    7 months ago

    This is my jam. Mines are super complex problems. These guys are dealing with abandoned/legacy sites which is even more challenging, since soil for reclamation is usually non-existent. The older the mine, usually the worse it is in terms of contaminants.

    I wrote a paper on a mine up north that had Arsenic levels of 9,200 ppm. For reference, soil quality guides for limiting impacts to humans and the environment is 50 ppm…

    So yeah, a bit of an issue.

    One of the things I like that they are doing is they are using a pretty broad reveg prescription (multiple spp). This will help kick start things.