ENHANCEMENT OF TERRESTRIAL CARBON SINKS THROUGH RECLAMATION OF ABANDONED MINE LANDS IN THE APPALACHIAN REGION
The U.S.D.I. Office of Surface Mining (OSM) estimates that there are approximately 1 million acres of abandoned mine land (AML) in the Appalachian region. AML lands are classified as areas that were inadequately reclaimed or were left unreclaimed prior to the passage of the 1977 Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act, and where no federal or state laws require any further reclamation responsibility to any company or individual. Reclamation and afforestation of these sites have the potential to provide landowners with cyclical timber revenues, generate environmental benefits to surrounding communities, and sequester carbon in the terrestrial ecosystem. Through a memorandum of understanding, the OSM and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) have decided to investigate reclaiming and afforesting these lands for the purpose of mitigating the negative effects of anthropogenic carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. This study determined the carbon sequestration potential of northern red oak (Quercus rubra L.), one of the major reclamation as well as commercial species, planted on West Virginia AML sites. Analyses were conducted to (1) calculate the total number of tons that can be stored, (2) determine the cost per ton to store carbon, and (3) calculate the profitability of managing these forests for timber production alone and for timber production and carbon storage together. The Forest Management Optimizer (FORMOP) was used to simulate growth data on diameter, height, and volume for northern red oak. Variables used in this study included site indices ranging from 40 to 80 (base age 50), thinning frequencies of 0, 1, and 2, thinning percentages of 20, 25, 30, 35, and 40, and a maximum rotation length of 100 years. Real alternative rates of return (ARR) ranging from 0.5% to 12.5% were chosen for the economic analyses. A total of 769,248 thinning and harvesting combinations, net present worths, and soil expectation values were calculated in this study. Results indicate that the cost per ton to sequester carbon ranges from $6.54 on site index 80 land at a 12.5% ARR to $36.68 on site index 40 land at an ARR of 0.5%. Results also indicate that the amount of carbon stored during one rotation ranges between 38 tons per acre on site index 40 land to 58 tons per acre on site index 80 land. The profitability of afforestation on these AML sites in West Virginia increases as the market price for carbon increases from $0 to $100 per ton.
- Research Organization:
- Stephen F. Austin State University (US)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- (US)
- DOE Contract Number:
- FC26-00NT40931
- OSTI ID:
- 822873
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: 1 Dec 2002
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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