Fen creation in the post oil sands landscape: Phase 2

在艾伯塔省北部开采油砂的地方，露天采矿面积约895平方公里，以泥炭为主的湿地（主要是沼泽）约占该地区的一半。工业需要将景观恢复到同等的功能。这意味着，作为景观复垦工作的一部分，必须将功能正常的湿地恢复到景观中。一个试验性的沼泽系统连同整个流域一起被建造，这需要产生地下水流，以维持沼泽泥炭地的适当水平的湿度。该系统名为Nikanotee Fen分水岭，是在2013年1月建成的，它是在剥离覆盖层以获取油砂，并加工尾矿砂和石油焦等材料的基础上建造的。目标是构建一个自我维持的生态系统，该生态系统能够积累泥炭，能够支持具有代表性的植物物种组合，并且能够适应正常的周期性压力，例如与气候变化相关的压力。该系统是使用当时可用的最佳知识设计和构建的。我们的初步评估（2013-2017）显示，该系统在适度干燥的条件下保持湿润，具有碳积累，并且具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。该提案的重点是评估这些变化的性质和程度，并利用它们来预测系统未来的运作方式。为此，我们将继续研究这个系统的功能，以及它与附近自然遗址的比较。为了预测未来的行为，我们将开发数学模型，这些模型必须受到实地测量参数的约束。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，将这些湿地放置在最终关闭景观中的位置和方式。

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.