Appalachia's Coal-Mined Landscapes (eBook)

This book collects and summarizes current scientific knowledge concerning coal-mined landscapes of the Appalachian region in eastern United States. Containing contributions from authors across disciplines, the book addresses topics relevant to the region's coal-mining history and its future; its human communities; and the soils, waters, plants, wildlife, and human-use potentials of Appalachia's coal-mined landscapes.

The book provides a comprehensive overview of coal mining's legacy in Appalachia, USA. It book describes the resources of the Appalachian coalfield, its lands and waters, and its human communities - as they have been left in the aftermath of intensive mining, drawing upon peer-reviewed science and other regional data to provide clear and objective descriptions. By understanding the Appalachian experience, officials and planners in other resource extraction- affected world regions can gain knowledge and perspectives that will aid their own efforts to plan and manage for environmental quality and for human welfare.

Appalachia's Coal-Mined Landscapes: Resources and Communities in a New Energy Era will be of use to natural resource managers and scientists within Appalachia and in other world regions experiencing widespread mining, researchers with interest in the region's disturbance legacy, and economic and community planners concerned with Appalachia's future.

Carl E. Zipper is a Professor of Environmental Science at Virginia Tech, where he has been studying environmental and economic issues of Appalachian coal mining for more than 30 years. He has published more than 100 peer-reviewed publications on Appalachian environmental issues including mining effects on soils, water quality, forests, invasive plant proliferation, and aquatic ecosystems, as well as on regional extents of mining, and on relevant environmental policies. In his early career, he conducted research on energy economics and policy. His scientific contributions have been recognized by awards from entities including the American Society of Mining and Reclamation and US Office of Surface Mining.

Jeffrey G. Skousen is a Professor of Soil Science and has been the Land Reclamation Specialist at West Virginia University for 33 years. Professor Skousen has published over 300 publications in peer-reviewed journals and books, conference proceedings, and a number of trade magazines. He has also served as Editor for Reclamation Matters for 14 years. His areas of interest include mining and reclamation procedures, soil reclamation, revegetation, water quality prediction and control, treatment of polluted waters, and post-mining land use development. He has received numerous teaching, research, and service awards from West Virginia University and from the American Society of Mining and Reclamation, and other state, regional, and international organizations.