Constraints on Northern Aggregate Pit Reclamation and Novel Reclamation Strategies for Enhancing Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning

该项目将解决安大略省东北部聚集地的植物恢复和生物多样性的限制。Collège Boréal-Laurentian大学研究团队将探索新的土壤改良剂和种植策略，以促进生物多样性和关键生态系统功能的恢复，如养分循环、碳储存、抗干扰能力以及保护地下水和地表水。在1990年《综合资源法》颁布之前，就存在着许多“遗留”矿坑和采石场遗址，现在普遍要求对所有许可的遗址进行逐步修复。项目合作伙伴安大略省综合资源公司(TOARC)确定的这些遗产地中的一些将用于这项研究；然而，一个关键目标是也制定可进一步商业应用于集料生产和其他矿产开采部门的协议，这些部门管理废石，作为其逐步和最终关闭和遗址恢复的运营的一部分。因此，研究小组和TOARC将与对低成本修复感兴趣的对遗产遗址拥有地表权的土地所有者以及金属采矿公司(他们也面临废石回收挑战)和较大的集合体生产公司合作，这些公司的遗址代表着当代修复的多个阶段。该项目的市场潜力很大，从土地所有者和TOARC对遗产遗址修复感兴趣，以改善对本地区以及国内和全球具有类似地表地质和气候的其他地区所有当代综合生产者的潜在环境影响。制定的协议将侧重于低成本解决方案，以改善长期恢复轨迹和广泛的生态系统服务，使综合生产和采矿部门在财务上更具竞争力，并为它们赢得更强的环境和社会运营许可证。与行业伙伴合作，学术研究小组将在土地开垦、恢复和生物多样性领域产生新的知识和专门知识，以帮助集体生产者和采矿公司实现其恢复和关闭计划目标。

This project will address the limitations to plant restoration and biodiversity in Northeastern Ontario aggregate sites. The Collège Boréal-Laurentian University research team will explore novel soil amendments and planting strategies to facilitate restoration of biodiversity and key ecosystem functions like nutrient cycling, carbon storage, resilience to disturbance, and protection of ground and surface waters. Numerous "legacy" pit and quarry sites exist from prior to the 1990 Aggregate Resources Act, which now universally requires progressive rehabilitation for all permitted sites. Some of these legacy sites, identified by the project partner, The Ontario Aggregate Resource Corporation (TOARC herein), will be used in the study; however, a key goal is to also contribute protocols that can be commercially applied further in the aggregate- production and other mineral mining sectors that manage waste rock as part of their operations towards progressive and final closure and site restoration. Thus, the research team and TOARC will work collaboratively with landowners with surface rights to legacy sites who are interested in low-cost rehabilitation as well as metal mining companies (who also deal with waste rock reclamation challenges) and larger aggregate-production companies with sites representing multiple stages of contemporary rehabilitation. The market-reach potential of the project is large, spanning from landowners and TOARC interested in legacy site rehabilitation to improve environmental impacts to potentially all contemporary aggregate producers in our region and in other regions with similar surficial geology and climate nationally and globally. Protocols developed will focus on low-cost solutions that improve the long-term rehabilitation trajectories and a broad range of ecosystem services, making the aggregate-production and mining sectors more financially competitive and earning them stronger environmental and social license to operate. In collaboration with industry partners, the academic research team, will generate new knowledge and expertise in the areas of land reclamation, restoration and biodiversity that will assist aggregate-producers and mining companies, achieve their rehabilitation and closure plan targets.