Recovery of peatland donor sites on pre-existing linear features for moss layer transfer to reclaim in-situ oil and gas footprint in Alberta

包括井场和道路在内的数十万个原地油气特征分布在阿尔伯塔的北部地区，其中许多位于湿地。泥炭地原位足迹恢复的最新进展表明，供体苔藓材料的收集和转移是一种可行的重新植被技术。它是基于苔藓层转移技术（MLTT）首次开发的收获后园艺泥炭田在加拿大东部。它涉及到顶部10厘米泥炭剖面的收集和转移的繁殖体，包括苔藓碎片，孢子，种子和根茎，到准备好的泥炭表面。NAIT北方研究中心已经采用该技术来恢复泥炭地的原位石油和天然气特征。根据MLTT，不是针对天然泥炭地进行捐赠收获，而是针对现有的线性特征，包括冬季道路和切割线。在过去的十年中，我们已经获得了显着的洞察力和信心的可行性MLTT作为一种植被恢复技术，在泥炭地的原位足迹恢复。其中一个最早修复的井场确实符合省级复垦标准，可作为可认证的泥炭地。然而，供体采集不可避免地会对研究中心造成额外的干扰。虽然几十年来对恢复园艺泥炭地的研究已经证明，天然泥炭地的供体区可以在十年后恢复，但关于沿着现有线性特征恢复收获供体区的类似研究并不存在。本研究旨在解决这一关键的知识差距，通过研究六个捐助区（从3至11年收获后）沿着现有的冬季道路恢复两个井场和一个通道在阿尔伯塔省北方。我们将比较和调查环境因素与捐助者之间的植被发展，非收获的控制，和邻近的自然区域。这项研究将为业界和从业员提供保证，以纳入和应用MLTT在恢复原位特征。我们的研究结果可以帮助监管机构设定填海认证的基准条件，并帮助更新和制定湿地相关政策和土地管理指南。

Hundreds of thousands of in-situ oil and gas features including well pads and roads are scattered across Alberta's boreal region, many in wetlands. Recent advancement in in-situ footprint restoration in peatland indicates that the collection and transfer of donor moss material is a viable revegetation technique. It is based on the Moss Layer Transfer Technique (MLTT) first developed for post-harvest horticultural peat fields in eastern Canada. It involved the collection of the top 10-cm peat profile and transferring the diaspores, including moss fragments, spores, seeds, and rhizomes, onto the prepared peat surface. NAIT Centre for Boreal Research has adapted the technique to restore in-situ oil and gas features in peatland. Instead of targeting natural peatland for donor harvest as per the MLTT, existing linear features including winter roads and cutlines were targeted. Over the last decade, we have gained significant insight and confidence in the feasibility of MLTT as a revegetation technique for in-situ footprint restoration in peatland. One of the earliest restored well pads did meet the provincial reclamation criteria as a certifiable peatland. However, donor collection inevitably creates an additional disturbance to a site. While decades of research on restored horticultural peat fields have proven that donor areas in natural peatland can recover after ten years, similar studies on the recovery of harvested donor areas along existing linear features do not exist. This study aims to address this key knowledge gap by studying six donor areas (ranging from 3 to 11 years post-harvest) along existing winter roads for the restoration of two well pads and one access road in northern Alberta. We will compare and investigate environmental factors associated with vegetation development between donor, non-harvested control, and adjacent natural areas. This study will provide assurance for industry and practitioners to incorporate and apply the MLTT in the restoration of in-situ features. The findings of our study can help regulators set benchmark conditions for reclamation certification and help update and develop wetland-related policies and land management guidelines.