Afforestation/reforestation for the sustainable mineland reclamation and greenhouse gas management in the Canadian mining sector

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Past and present mining activities result in vast expanses of land being made unproductive, which combines with expanding mining activities in Québec, the increasing costs of site mine reclamation, and the anthropogenically-driven crisis of global warming of unprecedented proportion. This project aims to develop, alongside mining industry partners, the knowledge and know-how to increase greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions through the reforestation of barren mining residue deposits, using trees and shrubs instead of the widely-used grasses. Our team is composed of practical-minded researchers with expertise in both the forest and mine sectors on sustainable development, silviculture, life cycle assessment (LCA), modelling, biotechnology and microbiology. The multidisciplinary research we have been planning over the last 3 years**with our industrial partners is synthesized in the present proposal and will undoubtedly be the most integrated project to date linking mine site eco-rehabilitation and GHG mitigation provincially, if not nationally. Three research themes will be addressed during this 3-year long project: 1) Evaluating the early response of vegetation and soils to mine tailings reclamation using scenarios of reforestation and organic amendments; 2) Quantifying the net GHG balance and mitigation efficiency of alternative scenarios of mine tailings reclamation and organic amendments; 3) Analysing the short and long terms environmental efficiency and cost-benefit of both carbon and financial balances of A/R scenarios for the GHG emission offset of mining industries. The project will also provide an exceptional training opportunity for seven undergraduate and graduate students, as well as a postdoctoral fellow, leading to effective technology transfer to our mining partners.