Responses of reclamation plants to enhanced non-segregated tailings

由于土地干扰的严重性和复垦植物生长条件的挑战性，油砂开采复垦具有极大的挑战性。受干扰的地区包括油砂尾矿，这给植被重建工作带来了额外的挑战。尾矿中通常含有较高水平的化合物，可能对植物有害。为了应对这些挑战，加拿大自然资源有限公司(CNRL)一直在研究新的方法，旨在将尾矿对填海区植物的影响降至最低。这些努力导致了新型尾矿技术的最新发展。这些新型尾矿被称为强化非分离尾矿(ENST)和强化尖峰非分离尾矿(EsNST)。虽然这些尾矿对工业生产具有重要的优势，但这种新型尾矿技术的组成对将种植在尾矿顶部土壤覆盖层中的植物群落的生长可能产生影响。在拟议的项目中，我们将表征eNST和esNST尾矿的化学和物理特性，并在受控环境条件下研究它们对通常用于油砂复垦的植物生长和生理过程的影响。我们还将比较eNST和esNST沉积和释放水对植物生存、生长和生理反应的影响。这项研究的主要目标是产生所需的知识，以便为回收eNST尾矿制定最佳战略。这项研究的具体目标是1)表征植物短期暴露于eNST尾矿的影响和潜在毒性，并将其与eNST尾矿的影响进行比较；2)深入了解eNST尾矿中可能对植物生长和生存产生不利影响的因素；3)研究eNST尾矿对复垦地区植物生存所必需的外生菌根和环状菌根的影响。该项目将培养两名硕士学生、三名本科生暑期学生(每年一名本科生)和一名博士后研究助理。

Oil sands mining reclamation is highly challenging due to the severity of land disturbance and challenging growth conditions for reclamation plants. The disturbed areas include oil sands tailings, which pose additional challenge for the revegetation efforts. The tailings have commonly elevated levels of compounds that may be harmful to plants. To deal with these challenges, Canadian Natural Resources Limited (CNRL) has been working on new approaches that are intended to minimize the effects of tailings on plants in reclaimed areas. These efforts have resulted in a recent development of the novel tailings technology. These novel tailings are referred to as enhanced non-segregated tailings (eNST) and enhanced-spiked non-segregated tailings (esNST). Although these tailings have important advantages to the industrial production, the potential impact of the composition of this novel tailings technology on the growth of plant communities that will be planted in soil capping layers on top of the tailings. In the proposed project, we will characterize the chemical and physical properties of eNST and esNST tailings and study under controlled-environment conditions, their effects on growth and physiological processes in plants that are commonly used for oil sands reclamation. We will also compare the effects of eNST and esNST deposits and release waters on plant survival, growth, and physiological responses. The main objective of the study is to generate knowledge that is required to develop optimal strategies for the reclamation eNST tailings. The specific objectives of the study are to 1) characterize the effects and potential toxicity of short-term exposure of plants to eNST tailings and compare them with the effects of esNST tailings, 2) develop a thorough understanding of the factors in eNST that may adversely affect plant growth and survival, and 3) examine the impact of eNST tailings on ectomycorrhizal and ericoid mycorrhizal associations that are essential for the survival of plants in reclamation areas. The project will train two MSc students, three undergraduate summer students (one undergraduate student per year of the study), and a postdoctoral research associate.