scholarly journals Stand Characteristics and Productivity Potential of Indiana Surface Mines Reclaimed Under SMCRA

2006 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 94-99 ◽  
Author(s):  
John W. Groninger ◽  
Stephen D. Fillmore ◽  
Ron A. Rathfon
Keyword(s):  
Forest Cover ◽  
Robinia Pseudoacacia ◽  
Surface Mining ◽  
Forest Productivity ◽  
Site Index ◽  
Green Ash ◽  
Surface Mines ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Study Sites ◽  
Productivity Potential

Abstract The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA) addresses a wide range of environmental concerns. However, its impacts on forest stand development and productive potential have only recently been investigated. We surveyed the vegetation and forest productivity on 22 surfacemine sites throughout the coal-bearing region of Indiana that were reclaimed to forest cover under the provisions of SMCRA 7–14 years prior to sampling. Black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) and green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica) were the most widely occurring tree species.Tall fescue and goldenrod were the most widely occurring nonarborescent species. Median site index (base age 50 for black oak) was 30 ft. Although satisfying forest cover stocking requirements for bond release, these reclaimed surface mines almost always displayed a level of productivity farbelow those of native forests typical of this region. Reclamation techniques differing from those used on these study sites are needed to restore forest productivity to surface-mined lands while still complying with SMCRA.

Site Quality in Relation to Damage by Locust Borer, Megacyllene robiniae Forster in Black Locust

1998 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 106-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victor D. Echaves ◽  
Dan M. Harman ◽  
Amy L. Harman
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level ◽  
Black Locust ◽  
Robinia Pseudoacacia ◽  
Site Index ◽  
Site Quality ◽  
Soil Factors ◽  
Herbaceous Biomass ◽  
Study Sites ◽  
Robinia Pseudoacacia L ◽  
Attack Intensity

Forty-three study sites within eight counties in Maryland were utilized in an investigation of Site Index in relation to attack by the locust borer, Megacyllene robiniae (Forster), on the black locus tree, Robinia pseudoacacia L. In addition, several other factors related to borer attack intensity were tested for relationship with Site Index of black locust. Site Index was found to be negatively correlated with borer tunnels per tree, i.e., sites with higher Site Indices had statistically fewer borer attacks per tree. Positive correlation was also inferred between Site Index, borer attacks, and (1) scarring from previous year's borer attacks, (2) herbaceous biomass within-site, (3) elevation above sea level, (4) soil factors, including pH, %sand, silt, and clay.

scholarly journals Forest Productivity and Commercial Value of Pre-Law Reclaimed Mined Land in the Eastern United States

2002 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 106-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.A. Rodrigue ◽  
J.A. Burger ◽  
R.G. Oderwald
Keyword(s):  
Surface Mining ◽  
Forest Productivity ◽  
Eastern United States ◽  
Reference Sites ◽  
Hardwood Species ◽  
Forest Sites ◽  
Commercial Value ◽  
Rotation Age ◽  
Mine Sites ◽  
Study Sites

Abstract The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of mining practices used prior to the passage of the 1977 Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) on forest productivity and commercial value of reclaimed forest sites. Forest productivity and value of 14 mined and 8 nonmined sites throughout the eastern and midwestern coalfield regions were compared. Forest productivity of pre-SMCRA mined sites was equal to or greater than that of nonmined forests, ranging between 3.3 m3ha-1yr-1 and 12.1 m3ha-1yr-1. Management activities such as planting pine and valuable hardwood species increased the stumpage value of forests on reclaimed mine sites. Rotation-age stumpage values on mined study sites ranged between $3,064 ha-1 and $19,528 ha-1 and were commonly greater than stumpage values on nonmined reference sites. Current law requires that mined land be restored to capability levels found prior to mining. These results should provide a benchmark for reforestation success, potential forest productivity, and timber value for current reclamation activities.

Advanced Systems to Prevent Collisions of Mining Equipment and Personnel Accidents in Surface Mining

2020 ◽  
pp. 24-29
Author(s):  
A.F. Klebanov ◽  
M.V. Kadochnikov ◽  
V.V. Ulitin ◽  
D.N. Sizemov
Keyword(s):  
Human Life ◽  
Surface Mining ◽  
Production Cycle ◽  
Mining Equipment ◽  
Mining Operations ◽  
Emergency Situations ◽  
Surface Mines ◽  
Technical Requirements ◽  
Personal Devices ◽  
Blind Spots

The article addresses the issues of ensuring safe operation of mining equipment in surface mining. It describes the main factors and situations that pose a high risk to human life and health. The most dangerous incidents are shown to be related to limited visibility and blind spots for operators of mining equipment, which can result in collisions and personnel run over. The main technologies and specific solutions used to design collision avoidance systems are described and their general comparison is provided. A particular focus is placed on monitoring the health of employees at their workplace by means of portable personal devices that promptly inform the dispatcher of emergency situations. General technical requirements are formulated for designing of the system to prevent equipment collisions and personnel run over in surface mining operations. The paper emphasizes the importance of introducing a multifunctional safety system in surface mines in order to minimise the possibility of incidents and accidents throughout the entire production cycle.

scholarly journals A Multiple Criteria Decision Making Method to Weight the Sustainability Criteria of System Selection for Surface Mining

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (11) ◽  
pp. 3066
Author(s):  
Michał Patyk ◽  
Przemysław Bodziony ◽  
Zbigniew Krysa
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Performance Assessment ◽  
Multiple Criteria Decision Making ◽  
Surface Mining ◽  
Open Pit ◽  
Mining Equipment ◽  
Surface Mines ◽  
Mining Conditions ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Selection Of

Selection and assessment of mining equipment used in open pit rock mines relies chiefly on estimates of overall exploitation cost. The rational arrangement of mining equipment and systems comprising loading machines, haul trucks and crushing plants should be preceded by a thorough analysis of technical and economic aspects, such as investment outlays and the costs of further exploitation, which largely determine the costs of mining operations and the deposit value. Additionally, the operational parameters of the mining equipment ought to be considered. In this study, a universal set of evaluation criteria has been developed, and an evaluation method has been applied for the selection of surface mining equipment and the processing system to be operated in specific mining conditions, defined by the user. The objective of this study is to develop and apply the new methodology of multi-criteria selection of open pit rock mining equipment based on multiple criteria decision-making (MCDM) procedures, to enable the optimization of loading, handling and crushing processes. The methodology, underpinned by the principles of MCDM, provides the dedicated ranking procedures, including the ELECTRE III. The applied methodology allows the alternative options (variants) to be ranked accordingly. Ultimately, a more universal methodology is developed, applicable in other surface mines where geological and mining conditions are similar. It may prove particularly useful in selection and performance assessment of mining equipment and process line configurations in mining of low-quality rock deposits. Therefore, we undertook to develop universal criteria and applications for the selection and performance assessment of process machines for surface mines, taking into account environmental aspects as well as deposit quality.

scholarly journals Excavation of Red Squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) Middens by Bears (Ursus spp.) in Limber Pine (Pinus flexilis) Habitat in Banff National Park, Alberta

2017 ◽  
Vol 130 (4) ◽  
pp. 281 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Hamer
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
Habitat Characteristics ◽  
Tamiasciurus Hudsonicus ◽  
Red Squirrel ◽  
Limber Pine ◽  
Banff National Park ◽  
Pine Stands ◽  
Study Sites ◽  
Pinus Spp

Bears (Ursus spp.) in North America eat the seeds of several pines (Pinus spp.), including Limber Pine (P. flexilis E. James). Information on use of Limber Pine in Canada is limited to a report of three bear scats containing pine seeds found in Limber Pine stands of southwestern Alberta. After my preliminary fieldwork in Banff National Park revealed that bears were eating seeds of Limber Pine there, I conducted a field study in 2014–2015 to assess this use. Because bears typically obtain pine seeds from cone caches (middens) made by Red Squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus), I described the abundance, habitat characteristics, and use by bears of Red Squirrel middens in and adjacent to Limber Pine stands at six study sites. On Bow River escarpments, I found abundant Limber Pines (basal area 1–9 m2/ha) and middens (0.8 middens/ha, standard deviation [SD] 0.2). Of 24 middens, 13 (54%) had been excavated by bears, and three bear scats composed of pine seeds were found beside middens. Although Limber Pines occurred on steep, xeric, windswept slopes (mean 28°, SD 3), middens occurred on moderate slopes (mean 12°, SD 3) in escarpment gullies and at the toe of slopes in forests of other species, particularly Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii). At the five other study sites, I found little or no use of Limber Pine seeds by bears, suggesting that Limber Pine habitat may be little used by bears unless the pines are interspersed with (non-Limber Pine) habitat with greater forest cover and less-steep slopes where squirrels establish middens. These observations provide managers with an additional piece of information regarding potential drivers of bear activity in the human-dominated landscape of Banff National Park’s lower Bow Valley.

Movement of small mammals across divided highways with vegetated medians

2011 ◽  
Vol 89 (12) ◽  
pp. 1214-1222 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashley A.D. McLaren ◽  
Lenore Fahrig ◽  
Nigel Waltho
Keyword(s):  
Small Mammals ◽  
Small Mammal ◽  
Vegetation Cover ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
Vegetation Type ◽  
Barrier Effect ◽  
Cover Type ◽  
Study Sites ◽  
Median Width ◽  
Initial Capture

Previous studies suggest the gap in forest cover generated by roads contributes to the barrier effect of roads on movement of forest-dwelling small mammals. However, it is not known if vegetated medians of divided highways affect movement of small mammals by reducing the effective highway width. The purpose of our study was to determine whether the type of vegetation cover in the median (treed or grassy) or median width affects small-mammal crossings of divided highways. At 11 study sites varying in median cover type and width, we live-trapped small mammals next to one side of the highway and translocated them to the opposite side of the highway using a standardized translocation distance. In total, 24% of translocated individuals were recaptured on the side of the highway of initial capture, i.e., they had moved across the entire highway. This was significantly lower than what would have been expected in the absence of the highway (58%). The overall probability of recapturing a translocated individual was not significantly related to median cover type or width. Our results suggest that efforts to mitigate the barrier effect of highways on small mammals cannot be accomplished by altering median vegetation type and width.

scholarly journals On evaluation of complex-structured coal deposits based on their typical geometric features

2021 ◽  
Vol 303 ◽  
pp. 01029
Author(s):  
Alexander Katsubin ◽  
Victor Martyanov ◽  
Milan Grohol
Keyword(s):  
Surface Mining ◽  
Geological Structure ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Open Pit ◽  
Open Pit Mining ◽  
Mining Operations ◽  
Coal Deposits ◽  
Geological Conditions ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Large Length

Information about the geological structure of Kuznetsky coal basin (Kuzbass) allows us to note that coal deposits developed by open-cast method are characterized by complicated conditions and have the following features: large length of deposits at significant depths of occurrence; coal series bedding of different thicknesses (from 1 to 40 m); different dip angles (from 3 to 90º); a significant number of dip and direction disturbances; different thickness of unconsolidated quaternary sediments (from 5 to 40 m); a wide range of strength values of rocks. In addition, there is a thickness irregularity and frequent variability of elements of occurrence of coal seams within the boundaries of a quarry field both in length and depth of mining. From the point of view of open-pit mining, such deposits are complex-structured. The factors listed above have a decisive influence on the choice of technical means, the order of development and the possibility of carrying out surface mining operations. Therefore, there is a need for a systematization of mining and geological conditions for the development of coal deposits, the purpose of which is to ensure a process of evaluation of complex-structured coal deposits for the development of coal-bearing zones by various complexes of equipment.

scholarly journals Gefährlich und nützlich zugleich: Strategien zum Management der invasiven Robinie

2018 ◽  
Vol 169 (2) ◽  
pp. 77-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michaela Vítková ◽  
Marco Conedera ◽  
Jiří Sádlo ◽  
Jan Pergl ◽  
Petr Pyšek
Keyword(s):  
Time Management ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Agricultural Landscape ◽  
Black Locust ◽  
Robinia Pseudoacacia ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Habitat Type ◽  
Agricultural Landscapes ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Intensively Managed

Dangerous and useful at the same time: management strategies for the invasive black locust The North American black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) is considered controversial as many other introduced tree species because of its both positive and negative properties. Based on a literature review and own data we analyze the occurrence of black locust in Czechia and Switzerland and present the management approaches in place. In both countries, black locust is on the blacklist of invasive introduced species. It can grow in a wide range of habitats from urban and agricultural landscape to dry grassland and forest. Meanwhile, the species became in many places part of the environment and human culture, so that neither unrestricted cultivation nor large-scale eradication is feasible. We suggest a context-dependent management which respects the different needs and takes into account the local environmental conditions, land-use, habitat type, risk of spread as well as economic, cultural and biodiversity aspects. To this purpose we propose three management strategies: 1) control respectively gradual suppression of black locust in forests where the species is not welcome, 2) its eradication in sensitive ecosystems as dry grasslands or clear and dry forests and 3) its tolerance in intensively managed agricultural landscapes and in urban environment.

scholarly journals Technological Adaptation of Internal Dumping to the Operating Mode of Open Pit when Developing Inclined and Steeply Dipping Coal Seams Strata

2021 ◽  
Vol 315 ◽  
pp. 01015
Author(s):  
Alexei Selyukov
Keyword(s):  
Surface Mining ◽  
Operating Mode ◽  
Open Pit ◽  
Surface Mines ◽  
Technological Adaptation ◽  
Coal Deposits ◽  
Mining Front ◽  
Mining Methods ◽  
Further Development ◽  
Internal Dumping

With surface mining of inclined and steeply dipping coal deposits, the so-called deeping longitudinal mining methods with a gradual deepening of mining from the surface to the final depth are widely spread, while orienting the mining front along the strike line of the seams (strata). When using such mining methods, the volumes of internal dumping are limited or completely absent; there is a peak-like increase in overburden volumes and transportation distance, the land resources disturbing proceeds at a progressive pace. In this regard, it is obvious that an important production task is to find technological solutions and methods to develop coal deposits that reduce the environmental hazard and increase resource conservation in mining by placing overburden in the mined-out space while reducing the area for external dumps and disturbing the earth's surface. If this is not foreseen at the present time, then all coal surface mines in the coming decades will be limited by their own external dumps of overburden, and their further development will be problematic.

Geographic Variation in Habitat Structure of the Black-Throated Green Warbler (Dendroica virens)

The Auk ◽  
1983 ◽  
Vol 100 (2) ◽  
pp. 382-389 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott L. Collins
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Plant Community ◽  
Habitat Structure ◽  
Habitat Management ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Structural Features ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
White Mountain National Forest ◽  
Study Sites ◽  
Regional Analyses

Abstract Habitat structure of the Black-throated Green Warbler (Dendroica virens) was examined at five study sites: (1) Mount Desert Island, Maine; (2) Mount Blue State Park, Maine; (3) White Mountain National Forest, New Hampshire; (4) southern Adirondacks, New York; and (5) Itasca State Park, Minnesota. Principal component analysis of 13 habitat-structure variables measured at each site produced habitat gradients from tall to shorter canopies, large to smaller trees, and coniferous to deciduous forests. A second ordination indicated that the habitat sampled included five plant-community types: pine forests, spruce-arbor vitae, balsam fir, mixed spruce-fir-deciduous, and beech-maple-birch. Consistent structural features within the total range of habitats sampled were difficult to identify. I suggest that widely occurring species such as the Black-throated Green Warbler have a wide range of habitats with a suitable structure and that regional analyses, even within a single plant-community type, may be of limited value with regard to habitat management when considering the entire range of many species.

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