Appalachia 2023 - Mine Site Rehabilitation and Restoration

PROJECT REPORT

APPALACHIA 2023MINE SITE REHABILITATION AND RESTORATION

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT

Dear friend,

Thanks to your support, a total of 311,325 trees were planted to restore 1,018 acres of land in Pennsylvania.

Planting trees in areas that have been deforested can help to accelerate the reestablishment of healthy forests. Reforestation and smaller-scale tree planting benefits not only the surrounding ecosystem, but local communities, as well.

None of this would be possible without you. On behalf of everyone at One Tree Planted, thank you!

What follows is a report outlining the project you supported in Pennsylvania. I hope you enjoy reading it and truly feel the impact you have made.

The primary goals of the Appalachia 2023 - Mine Site Rehabilitation and Restoration project were to restore and enhance degraded public forestlands through underplanting (planting seedlings beneath an existing overstory), and to assist in ecological reclamation of abandoned mine sites. Native tree species and additional vegetation were planted on 21 sites across five state game lands and twoabandonedminelandsinPennsylvania.

WE WOULD LIKE TO EXTEND OUR SINCERE GRATITUDE TO THE DONORS WHO HAVE SUPPORTED THIS TREE PLANTING PROJECT. YOUR FUNDING IS HELPING TO ACCOMPLISH LONG-TERM GOALS SUCH AS ADDING NATIVE TREE DIVERSITY TO FORESTS ON PUBLIC LANDS, IMPROVING WILDLIFE HABITAT, SEQUESTERING CARBON TO MITIGATE THE EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE, STABILIZING SOILS AND REDUCING EROSION, SHADING STREAMS AND CREEKS, AND INCREASING THE RESILIENCY OF OUR NATIVE FORESTS FOR THE FUTURE.

YOUR IMPACT ON THE MAP

Trees were planted on 21 sites in Bucks, Clarion, Forest, Jefferson, Venango, and Wyoming Counties in Pennsylvania. Two of the sites were located on abandoned openpitminelands,andtheremainderwerelocatedinstategameareas.

YOUR IMPACT ON THE MAP

A CLOSER LOOK AT THE IMPACT

Forests across the globe are under threat from a variety of manmade disturbances that reduce tree diversity. Decreased tree diversity results in a cascade of negative ecological, social and economic consequences, such as degraded wildlife habitat, loss of species of cultural importance to indigenous communities, reduced recreationalvalue,andmostimportantly,reducedforestresilience.

Low tree diversity due to anthropogenic (man-made) disturbances contributes to reductions in forest resilience. Resilience is defined as the capacity of an ecosystem to return to its pre-disturbance condition following a disturbance, including maintaining its essential characteristics, composition, structure, functions, and processes. Forests characterized by high tree diversity are better able to withstand and recover from large-scale disturbances, such as wildfires and pest infestations. This increased capacity to recover is due to the presence of a variety of tree species with differing biological qualities. For example, some tree species are resistant to fire, but cannot withstand flooding, while others may be more adapted to flooding, butaresusceptibletodisease.

Accordingly, while a resilient forest may suffer some tree mortality following a disturbance, enough trees with resistance or adaptation to that disturbance will survive to allow the forest to continue to grow and function. Increasing the number of tree species in a forest therefore increases that forest’s ability to respond to and withstandagreatervarietyofthreats.

As climate change continues to accelerate, many of the disturbances that have shaped our forests for millennia will also change. We have already begun to see the implications: catastrophic wildfires, more powerful hurricanes, and extended droughts. The future of our forests depends on their ability to withstand and recover from new and more intense threats. Implementing forest restoration projects that increase tree diversity in disturbed forests will be critical to enhancing the resilience ofthesesystemsandsafeguardingthebenefitstheyprovidenowandinthefuture.

PROJECT SPOTLIGHT

Reforestation for wildlife habitat through forest restoration and mine reclamation in Appalachia

Reforestation of surface mined lands provides numerous benefits, including control of unwanted vegetation, creation of young-forest habitat in the short-term, and the eventual creation of mature forest habitat and reduction of forest fragmentation in the long-term — all of which will benefit a variety of wildlife now and into the future. In the short-term, the young forests that are created will benefit American woodcock, wild turkey, and other species that rely on young forest habitat for foraging and breeding, such as golden-winged warblers. As the forests mature over time and biodiversity increases through the process of succession, additional species will benefit, including those that require larger tracts of contiguous forest. Acorns from mature oaks will also be beneficial for white-tailed deer, wild turkey, ruffed grouse, andavarietyofsmallmammalsthatresideinthearea.

Prior to the industrial logging era of the late 1800s and early 1900s, red spruce influenced forests were much more prevalent in the Alleghenies. Widespread clearcutting and wildfires removed the red spruce forests, which were eventually replaced with hardwood forests. The tracts of red spruce that remained were highly fragmented. Our planting partners have been working to create a corridor of red spruce forests along the Allegheny Front, extending from West Virginia into Pennsylvania. Portions of this project will supplement that effort and are intended to restore habitat for the endangered northern flying squirrel, which requires red spruce forests for foraging and shelter. However, red spruce influenced forests provide habitat for many other threatened and imperiled species. The planted spruce, white pine,andbalsamfirwillalsoprovideyear-roundthermalprotectionofsurfacewaters and benefit additional species such as deer, turkey, and many others. The thermal protection and reduced sedimentation provided by forest cover reduces heating of downstream waters. This increases water’s capacity to hold dissolved oxygen, benefitingaquaticlife.

PROJECT SPOTLIGHT

Reforestation for wildlife habitat through forest restoration and mine reclamation in Appalachia

All of these benefits are relevant to under-planting forested areas that have been disturbed or degraded. The planting areas on Pennsylvania State Game Lands (SGLs)havevaryingpercentagesofforestcover,buttheforestshavebeendisturbed or degraded by invasive insects or plants, storm blow-downs, or are threatened by hemlockwoolyadelgidinvasiondetectedinthecounty.

Most of these plantings are in riparian areas adjacent to streams that support aquatic life that requires cold water to survive. Underplanting hemlock in advance of loss due to the adelgid, planting after heavy loss due to storm blowdown, and planting after invasive species removal and treatment, protects water resources and the wildlife that inhabit them, prevents invasive plants from quickly taking over the openings, and ultimately increases the resiliency of the forest ecosystem. Trees also uptake water, prevent flash-flooding, add stability to stream banks, and add organic materialtostreamhabitat.

DOCUMENTING YOUR IMPACT

Through authentic and informative storytelling, we help donors relate to the people who plant their trees and to the impact they're making for the planet. We share photos, videos, and updates from our global projects across our social media, website, and other media to create a personal connection to the incredible work happeningontheground.

PHOTOS FROM YOUR PROJECT

PENNSYLVANIA’S STATE TREE, THE EASTERN HEMLOCK, IS SLOWLY BEING DECIMATED BY AN INVASIVE INSECT CALLED THE HEMLOCK WOOLY ADELGID, WHICH WAS FOUND ON THIS PROJECT SITE. HEMLOCK MAKES UP 6070% OF THE CANOPY HERE. BY PLANTING OTHER CONIFER SPECIES IN ADVANCE OF HEMLOCK DEATH THAT IS SURE TO DEVASTATE THIS FOREST, WE ARE BOOSTING THE FOREST’S RESILIENCY AND STARTING A NEW GENERATION OF SEEDLINGS WHERE VERY FEW WERE PREVIOUSLY ABLE TO GET ESTABLISHED.

BIODIVERSITY BENEFITS

In addition to increasing tree diversity in the planting areas, this project will enhance habitat for more than 250 species of wildlife, at least 26 of which are threatenedorendangered.

One long-term goal of this project is to reduce forest fragmentation and increase the extent of contiguous forest to benefit Neotropical songbirds, such as cerulean warblers,scarlettanagers,ovenbirds,andotherforestinteriordependentspecies.

Cerulean warbler populations have declined by 3.02% per year from 1966-2012 based on estimates from the North American Breeding Bird Survey. Cerulean warbler is considered a Bird of Conservation Concern by the US Fish and Wildlife ServiceandisaSpeciesofGreatestConservationNeedintheWildlifeActionPlans of 22 states. Reforestation of surface mined lands is a long-term approach to benefit Cerulean warbler and other forest interior dependent bird populations by increasing the extent of contiguous tracts of forest. However, surface mine reforestation will also benefit numerous other terrestrial and aquatic wildlife populations,potentiallyincludingotherlistedspeciesandspeciesofconcern.

Oncetheforestmatures,exfoliatingbarkfromoaks,cherry,andhickory,andsnags (standing dead trees) will provide roost sites suitable for several bat species, including the endangered Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis) and northern long-eared bat (Myotis septentrionalis), which has been recently listed as threatened. It is also anticipated that the forest will benefit numerous large mammals, including bobcatsandblackbears.

COMMUNITY BENEFITS

The Appalachia 2023 - Mine Site Rehabilitation and Restoration project provided direct employment for seed collectors, equipment operators, nursery workers, and tree planters. Since many tree planting crews consist of migrant workers, these projects stimulate local economies by bringing work into the region, benefiting retail, transportation, hospitality, service, and other secondary industries. The healthy and productive native forests that are restored will provide sustainable economic development and opportunities for entrepreneurship through future management actions, recreation, and harvesting of timber and nontimber forest products.

An additional benefit of these projects is the enhancement of ecosystem services, which helps all of society. Ecosystem services provided by forests include improved water quality, improved air quality through increased deposition of airborne particulates, and climate change mitigation through increased carbon accumulation.

This project will also improve downstream water quality. Reforestation of upland sites influences water quality and quantity by sheltering ephemeral streams and buffering water release from sites through increased infiltration and reduced surface runoff, potentially reducing flash flooding. Water quantity contributed to downstream waters is also reduced through increased evapotranspiration as the forests mature, which can reduce loading of sediment and pollutants, improving waterchemistry.

U.N. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

THIS PROJECT CONTRIBUTED TO THE FOLLOWING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS:

WHAT ARE SDGS?

Sustainable development entails seeking out solutions that not only boost the economic outcomes of developing and poorer nations, but also work to limit (or eliminate)ourimpactontheplanet.Treesareonesuchsolution.

From creating jobs and reducing hunger to improving gender equality, cleaning air and water, absorbing carbon, protecting life on land and water, and more, planting treescanaddressall17sustainabledevelopmentgoals.

“One Tree Planted is proud to support this incredible project that will improve wildlife habitat through reforestation efforts on abandonedmineandstategamelandsinPennsylvania.”

Stephanie Rochemont Project Manager United States