Integrated cover soils and woody debris impacts on reclaimed forest ecosystems

在北方阿尔伯塔的北方森林地区，在油砂开采后建立一个功能正常的森林生态系统是一项立法要求。采用适当的土地复垦方法是确保工业化后土地与扰动前土地具有“同等土地能力”的关键。该项目将量化三种填海技术的影响，描述负责的生态机制，并制定实施的业务建议，从而有助于改善土地填海实践。我们将建立三个实地研究，以评估不同的填海措施对树木，植物和土壤的影响。在第一项研究中，我们将研究如何综合覆盖土壤设计，其中两种不同类型的复垦土壤已被放置在一个单一的填海场地在各种补丁大小和安排影响的速度和程度的植物定植和扩展在不同的土壤类型。第二项研究将集中于粗木质残体以整根原木的形式在土壤表面作为复垦改良剂的应用。我们将量化原木系统地分布在整个景观中对植物群落和土壤养分的影响。最后的研究将描述的丰富性和作用的木质材料埋在复垦土壤中，特别是在其对养分供应的影响。这项工作得到加拿大自然资源有限公司的支持，将改进填海做法，并培训三名研究生和三名本科生。

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.