AVIAN RESPONSE TO LEGACY COAL MINE REFORESTATION IN THE CUMBERLAND PLATEAU, KENTUCKY

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.