Analyzing the interactions among multiple ecosystem services in a rural mining region in Central Appalachians

This study analyzed the interactions among a set of ecosystem services (ES) and derived ES bundles in the Headwaters of Coal River West Virginia (WV), in the Central Appalachians, an area historically characterized by surface mining and coal extraction. ES were modeled using the InVEST system, while a custom model was used to link water quality to freshwater ES, deriving information at two different spatial scales based on hydrologic units. High-resolution remote sensing data (1–2 m resolution) were used to incorporate historical information from land-cover (LC) transitions since 1976 to differentiate reclamation processes and characterize the forest class. Consistent ES tradeoffs were confirmed in areas characterized by surface mining processes that reported significant losses of carbon sequestration, habitat quality, and freshwater ES. The interaction of complex anthropogenic processes within the specific landscape led to the definition of different ES bundles, characterized not only by coal mining processes but also by the distribution of settlements and developed areas. The utilization of relatively small hydrologic catchments (1–25 km2), the comparison with a more extensive set of spatial units, and the inclusion of high-resolution data with multiple LC classes that included historical information, allowed the authors to infer knowledge about the interactions between ES changes and their drivers in the study area. The results can be used to implement conservation, as well as development-restoration strategies, by including ES assessments to promote a more sustainable land management approach in the rural-mining region of Central Appalachians and support future alternatives to extractive economies.