Salinity tolerance of regional native plant species and soil amendment potential for reclamation

阿尔伯塔省西北部一家石油和天然气勘探和生产公司拥有的井场所排放的采出水影响了超过10公顷的森林高地和泥炭地，导致土壤盐分水平升高。为了遵守省级复垦和修复政策，公司必须将受干扰的地点恢复到“等效土地能力”，即土地支持生产森林产品和服务的能力与受干扰之前的土地相似。然而，泄漏后土壤含盐量的增加给复垦带来了挑战，因为人们对该地区原生植物的耐盐性（即在盐度存在下的相对生长）知之甚少。除了监管和环境问题外，漏油事件还给公司带来了财务和责任方面的担忧，强调了制定有效回收战略的重要性。**该项目将通过研究本地植物物种的耐盐性、部署方法（种子与幼苗）的影响以及使用包括沸石、生物炭和水炭在内的改良剂增强土壤性质的潜力，来研究高土壤盐度条件下的复垦挑战。该项目的实施将由NAIT的两个研究中心（BRI和ABNIR）与Alberta innovations - technology Futures合作共同努力；小型企业；以及涉及漏油事件的公司

Over 10 hectares of forested upland and peatland were impacted by produced water released on wellsites owned by an oil and gas exploration and production company in northwest Alberta, resulting in increased salinity levels in the soil. To comply with provincial reclamation and remediation policies, the company must restore disturbed sites to "equivalent land capability", i.e. the ability of the land to support the production of forest goods and services similar to those prior to the disturbance. However, the increased salt levels in the soil post-spill present challenges to reclamation as little is known about the salt tolerance (i.e. relative growth in the presence of salinity) of plant species native to the area. In addition to regulatory and environmental issues, the spill also presents financial and liability concerns for the company underscoring the importance of developing effective reclamation strategies.**This project will investigate reclamation challenges under high soil salinity conditions by studying the salt tolerance of native plant species, the effect of deployment methods (seed versus seedling) and the potential to enhance soil properties using amendments including zeolites, biochars and hydrochars. The project implementation will be a joint effort between two research centres at NAIT (BRI and ABNIR) in collaboration with Alberta Innovates-Technology Futures; a small-sized enterprise; and the company involved in the spill.**