Understanding the recovery of ecosystems from pulp and paper mill effluents

二十年来，一些纸浆和造纸厂的废水对环境的潜在影响已经得到了充分的研究，但在影响的存在、所研究的终点的生态相关性以及应引起关注的反应程度方面，仍然存在相当大的争议。在过去的十年里，加拿大纸浆和造纸行业经历了相当大的变化，公司合并，许多老旧或较小的工厂关闭，以及财务失败，使运营工厂的数量从1991年的130家减少到2009年的80家。在以前长期研究和监测项目的设施中，关闭的时间梯度提供了一个独特的机会，可以了解减少压力后鱼类种群恢复的时间框架。我们可以评估监测项目中广泛使用的端点的敏感性、特异性和相关性，以改进标准化监测方法，并了解关闭后工业废水的潜在遗留问题。这些信息对于解决知识差距至关重要，因为知识差距限制了政府监管机构、科学家和工业界在了解纸浆和造纸厂废水的影响方面达成共识的能力。通过与监管机构和行业的合作，我们将开发和完善评估工具，以提高我们检测和应对相关和重大环境影响的能力。这种改进的方法将大大提高我们以下方面的能力：1)评估工业废水对环境的风险；2)确定可用于克服具体场地挑战的最佳监测做法；3)研究生态系统变化恢复的弹性、可逆性和时间尺度，以便更好地了解暴露对水生系统结构和功能的影响。这些是必须克服的关键挑战，以便继续发展有意义的监测工具，帮助保护加拿大和国际环境中的公共资源。

The potential for effluents from some pulp and paper mills to affect the environment has been well studied for two decades but there continues to be considerable controversy over the existence of effects, the ecological relevance of endpoints studied, and the magnitude of responses that should arouse concern. The Canadian pulp and paper industry has undergone considerable change over the past decade, with consolidation of companies, closure of many older or smaller mills, and financial failures that have reduced the numbers of operating mills from >130 in 1991 to <80 in 2009. The temporal gradient of closure at facilities where long term research and monitoring programs were previously in place offers a unique opportunity to understand the time frame to recovery of fish populations after reducing stress. We can evaluate the sensitivity, specificity, and relevance of endpoints that are widely used in monitoring programs in order to improve standardized monitoring approaches, and understand the potential legacy of industrial effluents following shutdown. This information is critical to address the knowledge gaps that limit the ability of government regulators, scientists and industries to reach consensus in understanding the impacts of pulp and paper mill effluents. Via partnerships with regulatory organizations and industries, we will develop and refine assessment tools to improve our ability to detect and respond to relevant and significant environmental impacts. This improved approach will significantly enhance our ability to: 1) assess risks to the environment from industrial effluents; 2) determine best practices in monitoring which could be used to overcome site-specific challenges; and 3) investigate the resiliency, reversibility and time scale for recovery of ecosystem changes in order to better understand the consequences of exposures on the structure and function of aquatic systems. These are key challenges which must be overcome to continue the development of meaningful monitoring tools that can help protect public resources in Canadian and international settings.