Salinity tolerance of regional native plant species and soil amendment potential for reclamation

阿尔伯塔西北部一家石油和天然气勘探和生产公司拥有的井场释放的采出水影响了10多公顷的森林高地和泥炭地，导致土壤盐度增加。为了遵守省级复垦和补救政策，公司必须将受干扰的土地恢复到“同等土地能力”，即土地支持生产类似于干扰前的森林产品和服务的能力。然而，溢油后土壤中盐含量的增加对复垦提出了挑战，因为对该地区原生植物物种的耐盐性（即在盐度存在下的相对生长）知之甚少。除了监管和环境问题外，泄漏事件还为公司带来了财务和责任问题，突出了制定有效的复垦策略的重要性。该项目将通过研究本地植物物种的耐盐性，使用方法的影响（种子与幼苗）以及使用沸石、生物炭和水炭等改良剂提高土壤特性的潜力。该项目的实施将是NAIT的两个研究中心（BRI和ABNIR）与阿尔伯塔创新技术期货公司、一家小型企业和参与漏油事件的公司合作的共同努力。

Over 10 hectares of forested upland and peatland were impacted by produced water released on wellsites owned by an oil and gas exploration and production company in northwest Alberta, resulting in increased salinity levels in the soil. To comply with provincial reclamation and remediation policies, the company must restore disturbed sites to "equivalent land capability", i.e. the ability of the land to support the production of forest goods and services similar to those prior to the disturbance. However, the increased salt levels in the soil post-spill present challenges to reclamation as little is known about the salt tolerance (i.e. relative growth in the presence of salinity) of plant species native to the area. In addition to regulatory and environmental issues, the spill also presents financial and liability concerns for the company underscoring the importance of developing effective reclamation strategies.This project will investigate reclamation challenges under high soil salinity conditions by studying the salt tolerance of native plant species, the effect of deployment methods (seed versus seedling) and the potential to enhance soil properties using amendments including zeolites, biochars and hydrochars. The project implementation will be a joint effort between two research centres at NAIT (BRI and ABNIR) in collaboration with Alberta Innovates-Technology Futures; a small-sized enterprise; and the company involved in the spill.