Identifying and Assessing Metrics of Ecosystem Recover in Eastern Hardwood Forests

The establishment of a metric for ecosystem recovery, utilizing ecosystem functions as a basis for measurement, would improve our ability to evaluate the success of ecosystem recovery practices. This project sought to examine several ecosystem functions for the potential to serve as a metric for recovery of surface mined and clearcut sites. The southern Appalachian region provided an ideal space for such an endeavor due to extensive timber and coal mining industries and the rich biodiversity of the region. Sampling was done on 10^th acre research plots equally distributed between two site types (surface mined and clearcut) and 5 age classes measured from the time since last disturbance (0-5 years, 6-10 years, 11-15 years, 16-29 years, and 30 plus years) in order to evaluate change over time in the selected functions. Each age class had three sites, in addition to two control sites which were defined as having been minimally disturbed for 50 or more years prior to the study. Infiltration rate, soil density, root biomass, flying and non-flying insect biomass, decomposition rate, canopy cover, tree species composition, basal area, tree species richness, and aboveground tree biomass were all assessed for trends across age classes and differences between disturbance types. Of these ecosystem functions, infiltration rate and root biomass at 18cm belowground were positively responsive to changes over time on surface mined sites, and soil density demonstrated some reduction as well. Aboveground tree biomass showed significant increases on both surface mined and clearcut sites approximately 15-20 years post-disturbance, along with canopy cover which showed positive growth up to 15 years post-disturbance. Further investigation into aboveground tree biomass, basal area, and canopy cover as potential metrics for ecosystem recovery is recommended, as they each show promise as a metric of ecosystem recovery.