Tundra restoration: Niche construction in early successional plant-soil crust

目前，在加拿大北方经营的许多行业都面临着恢复受资源开采活动影响的苔原生态系统的需要。 与Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd（AEM）合作，我们的目标是开发可应用于Meliadine高级阶段黄金项目的陆地苔原恢复技术。 过去的矿产勘探钻探和拟议的作业都已经并将影响努纳武特的梅利亚丁苔原环境。 随着该地区超过3000个钻井点和进一步的钻井和矿场开发的预期，有一个特定的网站苔原恢复技术的强烈需求。 播种和施肥是许多重新植被努力中常用的方法。 然而，这种方法在北方苔原环境中的生态和经济可行性是有限的，由于缺乏商业种子股票的北方本地苔原植被和孤立的网站位置。为了建立自然演替轨迹并促进关键的生态系统过程，我们将开发仅依赖于现场可用材料的恢复技术。 具体而言，我们将研究当地生物土壤结皮（BSC，即brabrites，地衣，蓝藻，细菌，真菌和古菌等群落）的潜力。和苔原表面有机层（即活性层的上部，包括所有种子库和根茎材料），以促进扰动前北极群落组合的发展和基本生态系统功能的恢复。 成功地恢复北方环境与这些当地的材料需要更好地了解可用的繁殖体的初始和实现再生生态位。 在这里，我们认为最初的生态位的第一个非生物和生物条件下遇到的基础物种是第一个建立在一个受干扰的网站。 在最初建立之后，这些物种将改变环境中的非生物和生物成分，从而构建已实现的生态位。 提高我们对早期生态位构建的理解，将有助于改善目前的北极苔原演替模型，并促进在恢复中有效利用本地苔原物种。

Currently many industries operating in northern Canada are faced with the need to restore tundra ecosystems that have been impacted by resource extraction activities. Working in partnership with Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd (AEM) we aim to develop terrestrial tundra restoration techniques that can be applied at the Meliadine advanced-stage gold project. Both past mineral exploration drilling and proposed operations have and will impact the tundra environment at Meliadine, Nunavut. With over 3000 drilling sites in the regional area and further drilling and mine site development expected, there is a strong need for site-specific tundra restoration techniques. Seeding and fertilization is commonly used in many revegetation efforts. However, the ecological and economic feasibility of this approach in northern tundra environments is limited due to the lack of commercial seed stocks for northern native tundra vegetation and isolated site locations. To establish natural successional trajectories and promote key ecosystem processes, we will develop restoration techniques reliant only on materials available on-site. Specifically, we will examine the potential for local Biological Soil Crusts (BSCs i.e. communities of bryophytes, lichens, cyanobacteria, bacteria, fungi and archaea etc.) and tundra surface organic layers (i.e. the upper section of the active layer including all seed bank and rhizomatous materials) to foster the development of pre-disturbance arctic community assemblages and recovery of essential ecosystem functions. Successful restoration of northern environments with these local materials requires a better understanding of both the initial and realized regenerative niche of available propagules. Here we consider the initial niche the first abiotic and biotic conditions encountered by foundational species that are first to establish on a disturbed site. Following initial establishment, these species will modify abiotic and biotic components in the environment and thereby construct the realized niche. Improving our understanding of early niche construction will help to improve current models of arctic tundra succession and facilitate effective use of native tundra species in restoration.