In the early 1800s, more than 500,000 acres of red spruce forests blanketed the Appalachian Mountains. As the population realized the value of red spruce, it became heavily logged for paper, construction lumber and musical instruments. In the 1970s and 1980s, the same lands were worked for surface and underground mining, further reducing red spruce forests until less than 50,000 acres remained. Source: Timberbiz
As a haven for West Virginia northern flying squirrel and endangered Cheat Mountain salamander, the red spruce plays a vital role in ecological communities. Numerous conservation groups, like Green Forests Work (GFW), have been established to bring back the native tree and restore the lands to their natural forest state.
Creating ideal soil conditions on former mined land for the red spruce trees to take root is a difficult task, requiring large machinery and agricultural knowledge. Komatsu began a partnership with GFW in 2019 as part of their reforestation program to provide machinery, financial and manpower assistance to their projects.
To date, the partnership between GFW, Komatsu, and the US Forest Service has resulted in the planting of more than 800 acres with over 575,000 native tree and shrub seedlings, and nearly 650 wetlands have been created. Tree survival rates typically exceed 90% thanks to the GFW’s methods of soil preparation using Komatsu equipment.
“To see Komatsu machinery expertly craft channels for planting is incredible. In our mission to be good stewards of the Earth, our machines are providing the care and quality touch the lands need to become a thriving forest,” Rod Schrader, chairman and CEO – Komatsu North America says.
Red spruce growth is divided into three stages: sleeping phase, creeping phase and leaping phase. The sleeping phase occurs from planting through year three, during which time the trees begin establishing their roots.
In years three through seven, the creeping phase, trees begin to grow in height; this is the stage trees Komatsu employees planted are currently in. The leaping phase encompasses years seven through 10 and occurs as the trees compete for sunlight space. Canopy enclosure begins at this phase. Following year 10, the forest becomes more self-sustaining and wildlife habitats flourish.
The Komatsu partnership with GFW mirrors the growing phases of the red spruce. In the first phase, the partners focused on soil preparation and tree planting. As that proved successful, the project moved into the second phase — pond decommissioning.
The teams worked to convert sediment ponds that remained from mining reclamation into wetlands and forest habitat to protect cold-water streams that support native brook trout. In the next phase of the project, we will see teams explore new sites and transform them back to their native states prior to surface mining.
“The financial and equipment donations from Komatsu have greatly accelerated the restoration work and improved the outcomes. We look forward to continuing this partnership and expanding the scope of these restoration projects in the coming years,” Michael French, Director of Operations for Green Forest Works, said.
