Date Available

5-2-2025

Year of Publication

2025

Document Type

Master's Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Forest and Natural Resource Sciences (MSFNRS)

College

Agriculture, Food and Environment

Department/School/Program

Forestry and Natural Resources

Faculty

Dr. Christopher Barton

Abstract

Surface coal mining and reclamation processes alter the ecological characteristics of landscapes, which affects the presence and distribution of native wildlife. The Forestry Reclamation Approach (FRA) is a coal mine reclamation method that aims to establish native forests on surface mines and has been widely implemented across the Central Appalachian region. Avian response the FRA, in particular, is unknown in Kentucky and limited throughout Appalachia. Thus, the goal of this project was to assess the effects of the FRA on avian community occupancy, species richness, and abundance in the Cumberland Plateau of Kentucky. Point count surveys were conducted across three site types between late May and June 2023. Site types included 1-year old FRA sites (YFRA), 7 to 23-year old FRA sites (OFRA), and unmined, mature forest sites (MAT). The results of this project showed that YFRA and OFRA sites in the Cumberland Plateau supported early successional bird communities based upon significantly positive guild-level occupancy estimates. Similarly, abundance estimates for early successional birds such as the Field Sparrow (Spizella pusilla), a species of conservation need in Kentucky, were positive for both FRA site types. In contrast, mature forest birds were not occupying FRA sites and species-level abundance estimates were only positively associated with the MAT site type. Future research is needed to determine if mature forest birds would benefit from further succession of FRA forests.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://doi.org/10.13023/etd.2025.155

Funding Information

This study was supported by the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement Applied Science Grant Program (Grant#: S21AC10048) in 2023-2025, the McIntire Stennis Capacity Grant Program (#KY009040) in 2023-2025, and the Department of Forestry and Natural Resources at the University of Kentucky in 2023-2025. In addition, this study was supported by the the University of Kentucky Appalachian Center’s Eller and Billings Student Research Award in 2024.

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