Douglas-Fir Seedling Survival and Growth Using a Modified Forest Reclamation Approach in the Pacific Northwest.

The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1997 dictates that mine operators must “restore the land affected to a condition capable of supporting the uses which it was capable of supporting prior to any mining, or higher or better uses” (SMCRA 1997).  The Forestry Reclamation Approach (FRA) has been used to successfully reforest coal-mined land in the Appalachian region.  Modified versions of the FRA approach were applied at a reclamation site located at a surface coal mine in western Washington State.  The study assessed three treatments: a control, a modified FRA treatment using only Douglas-fir, and a modified FRA treatment incorporating bottom ash from an on-site coal-burning power plant.  Douglas-fir seedlings (bare root and containerized) were planted in a split-plot design.  After two growing seasons, there was no difference in survival between seedling types.  The modified FRA plus ash treatment had significantly higher seedling survival than the control treatment, but all treatments had low survival rates (approximately 30-50%).  Foliar nutrient content was low with all treatments, therefore fertilizer (N, P, K, and S) was applied to a set of seedlings at the beginning of the third growing season.