For more than a century, the coal-mining industry has been a major economic force and employer in the Appalachian region of eastern USA. As national and global energy economies experience rapid change, Appalachian mining is declining in a way that appears permanent.

Coal mining, however, has left its mark on the region's lands, waters, and people. Most mined lands have soils, plant and wildlife communities that differ from those present in the region's existing native forests and are not used for economically valued purposes. Non-native plants are prominent on many former mine sites. Mined areas typically produce waters with elevated geologic-origin pollutants, major ions and trace elements, and support biotas differing from those present in waters flowing from the region's native forests. Human communities also reflect the region's mining history, as economic, education, and human-health indicators in intensive coal-mining areas lag those elsewhere in the region. These effects are evident as coal-mining declines to levels last seen in the late 19th century and with little prospect of recovery. As the people of the Appalachian coalfield look to the future, they do so while bearing that legacy. Here, we describe the condition of Appalachia's resources as they have been influenced by mining. We also look to the future by presenting opportunities for conversion of the region's extensive mined lands to beneficial uses and offering our perspective on prospects for Appalachia's coal-mined areas.

一个多世纪以来，煤炭开采业一直是美国东部阿巴拉契亚地区的主要经济力量和雇主。随着国家和全球能源经济经历快速变化，阿巴拉契亚的采矿业正在以一种看似永久性的方式下降。

然而，煤炭开采已经在该地区的土地、水域和人民中留下了印记。大多数矿区的土壤、植物和野生动物群落与该地区现有的原始森林中存在的群落不同，并且不用于具有经济价值的目的。在许多以前的矿场中，非本地植物很突出。矿区通常产生的水含有较高的地质来源污染物、主要离子和微量元素，并支持与该地区原生森林流出的水中存在的生物群不同的生物群。人类社区也反映了该地区的采矿历史，因为密集煤矿区的经济、教育和人类健康指标落后于该地区其他地方。随着煤炭开采量下降到 19 世纪后期的水平，而且几乎没有恢复的希望，这些影响是显而易见的。当阿巴拉契亚煤田的人们展望未来时，他们这样做的同时也继承了这一遗产。在这里，我们描述了受采矿影响的阿巴拉契亚资源的状况。我们还展望了未来，展示了将该地区广泛的矿区转化为有益用途的机会，并提供了我们对阿巴拉契亚煤矿区前景的看法。