Integrated cover soils and woody debris impacts on reclaimed forest ecosystems**

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The establishment of a functioning forest ecosystem after oil sands mining is a legislated requirement in the boreal forest region of northern Alberta. Applying appropriate land reclamation practices is critical to ensuring that the post-industrial land has an "equivalent land capability" to that of pre-disturbance. This project will quantify the impacts of three reclamation techniques, describe the ecological mechanisms responsible, and develop operational recommendations for implementation, thus contributing to improved land reclamation practices. **We will establish three field based research studies to evaluate the impacts of different reclamation practices on trees, plants and soil. In the first study we will study how an integrated cover soil design where two different types of reclamation soils have been placed on a single reclamation site in a variety of patch sizes and arrangements affects the rate and extent of plant colonization and expansion across the different soil types. The second study will focus on the application of coarse woody debris in the in form of whole logs on the soil surface as a reclamation amendment. We will quantify the impact of logs place systematically across the landscape on the developing plant community and soil nutrients. The final study will describe the abundance and role of woody material buried in reclamation soils, specifically in relation to its impact on nutrient availability. This work is supported by Canadian Natural Resources Limited and will result in improved reclamation practices and the training of three graduate students and three undergraduate students. **