West Virginia University Assessing the Effectiveness of Mine Land Reclamation to Off-Set GHG Emissions Mark Sperow Christopher Bouquot West Virginia University Morgantown, WV 23 March 2005 Presentation at the 2005 USDA Symposium on Greenhouse Gases and Carbon Sequestration in Agriculture and Forestry 21 – 24 March 2005, Baltimore, MD

Introduction Since 1977, mine operators required to reclaim disturbed land by planting grass, pasture, or trees (Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act) Vegetative cover not dictated by SMCRA Little documentation on what is planted Reclaimed mine sites represent a relatively unexplored option for GHG mitigation This study assesses the biophysical potential for C sequestration on reclaimed mine sites Analysis considers reclamation to cropland, pasture, and forest 20 year time period analyzed

Background Analysis part of seven state Regional DOE funded study Analyzed land use in IN, KY, MD, MI, OH, PA, and WV Overall objective to identify the potential for C sequestration on cropland, forest, wetland, and mineland to mitigate GHG emissions Land Use areas adjusted to avoid overlap of land area for other uses and mineland

Overview C sequestration Pools Methods Additional Data Sources Above-ground biomass (forest) Forest Litter Layer Forest Soils (0 – 30 cm layers) Pasture Soil (0 – 30 cm layers) Cropland Soil (0 – 30 cm layers) Methods Literature Derived annual C accumulation rates Literature Derived equations from chrono-sequence studies IPCC coefficients (cropland and pasture soil C) Additional Data Sources Surface Permits for coal mines (GIS available for IN, KY, OH, and WV, tabular data only for MD, MI, and PA) 1992 National Land Cover Dataset STATSGO GIS and Tabular to define mineland area

Mine Area Data Sources Mine Permit Area – 4 States Indiana Geological Survey Coal Mine Surface shape file –2,615 polygons showing location for mines dating from late 1880 to 2000 Kentucky Series7_boundaries – 1,195 polygons showing mine permit between 1999 to 2002 Ohio Department of Natural Resources Coal Permit Maps - 2,500 polygons showing location of mines between 1975 to 2002 West Virginia Department of Envioronmental Protection Permit Boundaries – 6,100 polygons showing location of mines between 1972 to 2002 National Land Cover data by county

Analytical Methods For all land uses, 1992 NLCD primary data source Identify NLCD area defined as mineland Adjust area to account for difference between GIS data for mineland and NLCD Assume average C accumulation from studies of above-ground biomass and litter layer for forest Average soil C accumulation from published studies and IPCC estimates

1992 NLCD Landcover Adjusted to Account for Mineland Area after 1992 TOTAL WATER URBAN MINE FOREST PASTURE CROP WETLAND IN ORIG 9,376,123 105,912 315,074 22,207 1,763,442 1,770,614 5,141,073 164,136 ADJ 105,825 315,063 30,201 1,761,721 1,768,645 5,136,906 164,114 KY 10,461,312 190,097 191,360 52,262 6,229,925 2,147,310 1,412,998 182,449 189,918 191,337 67,871 6,214,748 2,147,216 1,412,891 182,418 MD   2,738,712 225,942 200,797 29,081 1,058,915 632,247 354,547 221,371 MI 15,069,929 431,339 475,354 68,260 6,169,621 1,371,366 3,602,932 2,558,347 PA 11,733,011 135,322 482,408 125,363 7,643,828 2,644,374 581,759 98,199 OH 10,681,297 120,732 562,199 25,898 3,360,629 2,315,073 4,085,227 149,196 120,044 562,014 63,401 3,341,938 2,303,281 4,079,240 149,036 WV 6,268,806 51,012 81,981 73,253 5,238,932 688,709 118,158 15,263 50,163 80,654 183,473 5,135,223 685,512 117,174 15,126 66,329,190 1,260,356 2,309,173 396,324 31,465,292 11,569,693 15,296,694 3,388,961 1,258,553 2,307,627 567,651 31,325,994 11,552,641 15,285,449 3,388,611 Grass, Rock and Shrubs/orchards have very small changes

Mine Areas STATE ADJUSTED AREA OF PERMITS AFTER 1992 (ha) AREA WITHIN PERMITS LABELED BY NLCD AS MINES (ha) AREA DEFINED AS MINE BY NLCD (ha) TOTAL AREA OF MINES AFTER 1992 IN 7,994 195 22,207 30,201 KY 15,609 742 52,262 67,871 OH 37,503 3,968 25,898 63,401 WV 110,220 20,468 73,253 203,941 MD NA 29,081 MI 68,260 183,473 PA 125,363 Total 171,326 25,373 396,324 567,651

Mine Permit Data for IN, KY, OH and WV

Distribution of Mineland

Source Data for Carbon Pools Soil Carbon 3 general studies address soil C in forestland 3 studies specifically address soil C on reclaimed mine sites IPCC method (used to assess cropland, pasture, and forest) Forest Litter Layer 2 studies address C content of litter layer in forest 1 study of litter layer for mineland reclaimed to forest Forest Biomass 3 studies address forest growth rates and associated C content 1 study for mineland reclaimed to forest Predominantly USFS studies by state and region

How Source Data are Used Considerable variation in C accumulation from published literature Used state specific data when possible Biomass C accumulation rates for states not addressed by published study omitted from mineland C estimates Range of C sequestration estimated using the maximum and minimum rates derived from literature Average rate of C sequestration from all studies provide base values Average C sequestration multiplied by area of mineland

Average Rate of Change in C from Forest Biomass and Litter (Northeast Oak/Hickory)

Examples of C Estimate Equations IPCC Method – Mineland Soil C From Different Studies - Mineland Soil C Mg C ha-1 = 15 + 29.5/{1 + exp[– (t – 10.8)/2.39]} SOC = 0.12 t 0.78 (g 100 g-1 soil) C from Forest Biomass (Northeast Oak/Hickory) Mg C ha-1 = 1.79 t 0.797

Range of Annual C Accumulation Rates   IN KY MD MI OH PA WV Land Use Mg ha-1 yr-1 Forest Total 1.4 – 4.3 2.2 – 5.2 1.5 – 4.5 1.7 – 4.1 2.2 – 5.0 2.1 – 5.4 Biomass 0.8 – 2.2 0.6 – 2.4 0.6 – 1.1 0.4 – 1.9 1.5 – 1.8 0.8 – 2.0 1.5 – 2.8 Litter 0.05 – 0.4 -0.05 – 0.3 0.2 -0.1 0.1 Soil 0.7 – 3.3 0.5 – 2.7 0.7 – 3.4 0.6 – 2.6 Pasture 0.7 – 2.1 1.2 – 1.4 0.7 – 2.2 Cropland 0.5 – 2.1 0.5 – 2.4 0.5 – 2.2

Average C Accumulation Rates   IN KY MD MI OH PA WV  Land Use Mg ha-1 yr-1 Forest Total 2.6 2.7 2.2 2.5 3.1 2.0 3.0 Forest Biomass 1.4 1.5 0.8 1.1 1.7 Forest Litter 0.2 0.1 -0.1 Forest Soil 1.0 1.2 0.9 Pasture Soil 1.3 Cropland Soil 0.94 0.96 0.97

Annual C Accumulation from Land Uses   IN KY MD MI OH PA WV 1,000 Mg yr-1 Total Forest 41-129 78.6 149-354 177.4 44-129 69.2 114-277 178.0 132-287 178.1 188-561 256.8 376-987 537.2 Forest Biomass 24-66 42.9 42-45 104.8 23-32 27.1 75-82 79.6 95-111 99.9 138-150 141.0 266-514 334.8 Litter 6.5 7.9 5.8 13.7 7.6 -13.2 17.8 Forest Soil 20-99 29.2 34-181 64.7 20-97 36.2 46-229 84.8 37-176 70.6 88-423 128.9 110-473 184.5 Pasture Soil 21-82 39.6 48-143 88.2 20-61 38.1 48-150 94.9 44-133 83.7 88-276 168.0 128-386 241.3 Cropland Soil 15-63 29.0 34-143 65.6 14-61 27.5 34-164 67.5 32-140 69.9 63-276 140.2 92-386 149.8

Average Annual C Accumulation 1.2 – 2.7 0.7 – 1.1 0.4 – 1.2 0.4 – 1.7 0.3 – 1.2

Average Annual C Accumulation from Forest

Counties with Highest Annual Sequestration Rates

Mineland C Sequestration as GHG Off-Set 1990 CO2 emission estimate for 7 state region: 715 Tg CO2 yr-1 C sequestration potential on mineland reclaimed to forest : 1.5 Tg C yr-1 (5.5 Tg CO2 Eyr-1) Mineland C storage < 1% of total 1990 CO2 emissions Mineland C storage = 11% of Kyoto emission reduction requirement (7% below the 1990 level - excluding increase in emissions between 1990 and 2005)

Potential Annual C Accumulation and 20 Year Accumulation on Reclaimed Minelands   IN KY MD MI OH PA WV Total ----------------------------- Tg ------------------------------ Total Forest 1.6 3.5 1.4 3.6 5.1 10.74 Forest Biomass 0.9 2.1 0.5 2.0 2.8 6.70 Forest Litter 0.1 0.2 0.3 -0.3 0.36 Forest Soil 0.6 1.3 0.7 1.7 2.6 3.69 Pasture Soil 0.8 1.8 1.9 3.4 4.83 Cropland Soil 2.3 3.7 1.0 --------------------------- Tg yr-1 ---------------------------- Annual Potential 0.08

C Accumulation over 20 Years

C Accumulation on Minelands over 20 Years Conversion to Forest Provides Highest C Accumulations Total = 21 - 54 Tg Average = 29.5 Tg

Conclusions Reclaiming mineland to forest provides the largest GHG emission off-set Mineland reclaimed to forest represents a viable GHG emission mitigation option Reclaimed mine sites may provide least cost option for GHG mitigation Landowners already planting some mineland to forest Not removing or changing land use Potential income stream from C credits Incentive for landowners to plant forest Motivation for additional research to enhance forest on reclaimed mineland Reclaiming mineland to forest provides ancillary environmental benefits (wildlife habitat, reduced soil erosion, improved water quality, etc.)