Wetland creation and reforestation of legacy surface mines in the Central Applachian Region (USA): A potential climate-adaptation approach for pond-breeding amphibians?

Habitat restoration and creation within human-altered landscapes can
buffer the impacts of climate change on wildlife. The Forestry Reclamation
Approach (FRA) is a coal surface mine reclamation practice that enhances
reforestation through soil decompaction and the planting of native trees.
Recently, wetland creation has been coupled with FRA to increase habitat
available for wildlife, including amphibians. Our objective was to
evaluate the response of pond-breeding amphibians to the FRA by comparing
species occupancy, richness, and abundance across two FRA age-classes
(2–5-year and 8–1—year reclaimed forests), traditionally reclaimed sites
that were left to naturally regenerate after mining, and in mature,
unmined forests in the Monongahela National Forest (West Virginia, USA).
We found that species richness and occupancy estimates did not differ
across treatment types. Spotted Salamanders (Ambystoma maculatum) and
Eastern Newts (Notophthalmus viridescens) had the greatest estimated
abundances in wetlands in the older FRA treatment. Additionally, larger
wetlands had greater abundances of Eastern Newts, Wood Frogs (Lithobates
sylvaticus), and Green Frogs (L. clamitans) compared to smaller wetlands.
Our results suggest that wetland creation and reforestation increases the
number of breeding sites and promotes microhabitat and microclimate
conditions that likely maximize the resilience of pond-breeding amphibians
to anticipated climate changes in the study area.