Fen creation in the post oil sands landscape: Phase 2

在开采油砂的阿尔伯塔省北部，露天开采占地约895平方公里，以泥炭为主的湿地以地下水为主，主要是沼泽，约占该地区面积的一半。行业需要将景观恢复到同等的功能。这意味着，作为景观复垦努力的一部分，功能正常的湿地必须归还给景观。建造了一个试验性的沼泽系统，以及整个流域，这是产生地下水以维持沼泽泥炭地适当水平湿度所必需的。这个系统，尼卡诺蒂-芬分水岭，由剥离的覆盖层和包括尾矿砂和石油焦在内的加工材料建造而成，于2013年1月完工。其目标是构建一个自我维持的生态系统，该生态系统积累泥炭，能够支持具有代表性的植物物种组合，并对正常的周期性压力具有弹性，例如与气候变化有关的压力。该系统是利用当时现有的最佳知识设计和建造的。我们的初步评估(2013-2017)显示，该系统在中等干燥条件下保持潮湿，正在积累碳，并拥有包括附近自然系统中发现的植物在内的植物。它还表明，随着土壤和植被的发展，该系统正在经历快速变化。这项提案的重点是评估这些变化的性质和程度，并利用它们来预测该系统未来将如何运行。为此，我们将继续研究这个系统是如何运作的，以及它与附近自然地点的比较如何。为了预测未来的行为，我们将开发数学模型，这些模型必须与现场测量的参数相约束。我们还将使用模型来改进设计，使其能够更有效地利用材料和资源，并建议在矿山租赁完成后，在最终关闭景观中将这些湿地放置在哪里以及如何放置。

In Northern Alberta, where oil sands are extracted, open pit mining covers an area of ~895 km2, and peat dominated wetlands fed by groundwater, mostly fens, cover about half of this area. Industry is required to return the landscape to equivalent functionality. This means that functioning wetlands must be returned to the landscape as part of their landscape reclamation effort. An experimental fen system was constructed, along with the entire watershed that is required to generate groundwater flows that sustain an appropriate level wetness in the fen peatland. This system, the Nikanotee Fen Watershed, was constructed of overburden stripped to access the oil sands, and processed materials including tailings sands and petroleum coke, with construction completed in January 2013. The goal was to construct a self-sustaining ecosystem that accumulates peat, is capable of supporting a representative assemblage of plant species, and is resilient to normal periodic stresses such as those associated with climate variability. The system was designed and constructed using the best knowledge available at the time. Our initial assessment (2013-2017) showed the system remained wet under moderately dry conditions, was carbon accumulating, and had plants that included those found in nearby natural systems. It also showed the system was undergoing rapid change as soils and vegetation developed. The focus of this proposal is to evaluate the nature and extent of those changes, and use them to predict how the system will function in the future. For this we will continue to study how this system functions, and how this compares to nearby natural sites To predict future behaviour we will develop mathematical models, which must be constrained with parameters measured in the field. We will also use models to refine designs that can function with more efficient use of material and resources, as well as recommend where and how to place these wetlands in the final closure landscape, after a mine lease is completed.