1. 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

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. Mine Permit Data for IN, KY, OH and WV

10. Distribution of Mineland

11. 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

12. 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

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

14. Examples of C Estimate Equations
IPCC Method – Mineland Soil C
From Different Studies - Mineland Soil C
Mg C ha-1 = /{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

15. Range of Annual C Accumulation RatesIN 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

16. Average C Accumulation RatesIN 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

17. Annual C Accumulation from Land UsesIN KY MD MI OH PA WV
1,000 Mg yr-1
Total Forest
41-129
78.6
177.4
44-129
69.2
178.0
178.1
256.8
537.2
Forest
Biomass
24-66
42.9
42-45
104.8
23-32
27.1
75-82
79.6
95-111
99.9
141.0
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
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
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

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

19. Average Annual C Accumulation from Forest

20. Counties with Highest Annual Sequestration Rates

21. Mineland C Sequestration as GHG Off-Set
1990 CO2 emission estimate for 7 state region: 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)

22. Potential Annual C Accumulation and 20 Year Accumulation on Reclaimed MinelandsIN 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
Annual
Potential
0.08

23. C Accumulation over 20 Years

24. C Accumulation on Minelands over 20 Years
Conversion to Forest Provides Highest C Accumulations
Total = Tg
Average = 29.5 Tg

25. 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.)