HR: 1330h
AN: NB33E-08    [Abstracts]
TI: The Affects of Mountain Top Removal Mining on Headwater Streams in Eastern Kentucky
AU: * Word, D A
EM: david.word@louisville.edu
AF: University of Louisville, Department of Biology, Louisville, KY 40292 United States
AU: Jack, J D
EM: jeff.jack@louisville.edu
AF: University of Louisville, Department of Biology, Louisville, KY 40292 United States
AU: Kelley, R
EM: Kelley.Randall@epamail.epa.gov
AF: SoBran, INC, c/o U.S. EPA National Exposure Research Laboratory, Cincinnati, OH 45268 United States
AB: Mountain Top Removal/Valley Fill (MTR/VF) coal mining is a relatively new coal extraction technology that is widely utilized throughout the Appalachian region. During this process, the mountaintop is blasted away, the coal removed and the leftover material (spoil) is then deposited into the surrounding valleys. The potential negative ecological effects of these operations on stream biodiversity has received some attention but there is little available data on how these fills affect stream functions such as litter decomposition rates. We selected 4 streams draining "retired" MTR/VF sites of various ages in eastern Kentucky (USA) and one stream from an actively mined site. We compared leaf mass loss rates, N dynamics, fungal colonization (as measured by ergosterol) and water chemistry parameters in these streams to three unmined reference streams. Leaf litter mass loss was usually higher in the reference streams while water chemistry parameters such as conductivity, nitrate and TDS were often much higher in the MTR/VF streams. Such differences in stream function and water quality should be considered in permitting decisions and in assessing recovery of streams after mining.
DE: 1800 HYDROLOGY
DE: 1803 Anthropogenic effects
DE: 1899 General or miscellaneous
DE: 9810 New fields (not classifiable under other headings)
SC: North American Benthological Society [NB]
MN: 2005 Joint Assembly