Vegetative community development on reclaimed lignite coal mine land in east Texas

This study investigated long-term trends in vegetative community development on reclaimed lignite coal mine land owned by Luminant Mining Company at the Beckville and Tatum mines of the Martin Lake mine complex within Panola County in east Texas. The main objective of this study was to determine vegetative community characteristics and trends in community development over time within three vegetative types (pine, mixed pine-hardwood, agronomic) established on reclaimed lignite coal mine land as well as within unmined reference sites. For reclaimed pine and mixed sites at both mines, vegetation data indicated a pattern in which sites developed over time from an abundance of annual and perennial herbaceous species among the planted tree seedlings into a more complex forest structure containing woody vines, shrubs and other tree species that are associated with east Texas forests. Reclamation activities on mixed pine-hardwood sites of both mines were conducive to production of forest structure congruent to unmined east Texas forests, which was evident in sites as young as 12 to 15 years old. However, species composition of reclaimed mixed sites was not highly similar to unmined forests; this was partially due to selection of species planted du ring reclamation.