Recovery of peatland donor sites on pre-existing linear features for moss layer transfer to reclaim in-situ oil and gas footprint in Alberta

包括井台和道路在内的数十万个原位油气特征分布在阿尔伯塔北部地区，其中许多位于湿地。泥炭地原位足迹恢复研究的最新进展表明，收集和转移供体苔藓材料是一种可行的植被恢复技术。它基于苔藓层转移技术（MLTT），该技术最初是为加拿大东部的收获后园艺泥炭田开发的。它包括收集顶部10厘米的泥炭剖面，并将包括苔藓碎片、孢子、种子和根状茎在内的分散体转移到准备好的泥炭表面。NAIT北方研究中心已将该技术应用于泥炭地的原位油气特征恢复。根据MLTT，不是针对天然泥炭地进行捐赠收获，而是针对现有的线性特征，包括冬季道路和切线。在过去的十年中，我们对MLTT作为泥炭地原位足迹恢复的植被恢复技术的可行性有了重要的认识和信心。最早恢复的井台之一确实符合省开垦标准，成为可认证的泥炭地。然而，供体收集不可避免地会对站点造成额外的干扰。几十年来对恢复的园艺泥炭地的研究已经证明，天然泥炭地的供体区可以在十年后恢复，而对收获的供体区沿着现有的线性特征恢复的类似研究还没有。本研究旨在通过研究艾伯塔省北部现有冬季道路沿线的六个捐赠地区（收获后3至11年）来解决这一关键知识差距，以恢复两个井台和一条通道道路。我们将比较和调查与供体、未采伐对照和邻近自然区域之间植被发育相关的环境因素。本研究将为行业和从业者将MLTT纳入并应用于原位地物恢复提供保障。我们的研究结果可以帮助监管机构制定填海认证的基准条件，并有助于更新和制定与湿地有关的政策和土地管理指南。

Hundreds of thousands of in-situ oil and gas features including well pads and roads are scattered across Alberta's boreal region, many in wetlands. Recent advancement in in-situ footprint restoration in peatland indicates that the collection and transfer of donor moss material is a viable revegetation technique. It is based on the Moss Layer Transfer Technique (MLTT) first developed for post-harvest horticultural peat fields in eastern Canada. It involved the collection of the top 10-cm peat profile and transferring the diaspores, including moss fragments, spores, seeds, and rhizomes, onto the prepared peat surface. NAIT Centre for Boreal Research has adapted the technique to restore in-situ oil and gas features in peatland. Instead of targeting natural peatland for donor harvest as per the MLTT, existing linear features including winter roads and cutlines were targeted. Over the last decade, we have gained significant insight and confidence in the feasibility of MLTT as a revegetation technique for in-situ footprint restoration in peatland. One of the earliest restored well pads did meet the provincial reclamation criteria as a certifiable peatland. However, donor collection inevitably creates an additional disturbance to a site. While decades of research on restored horticultural peat fields have proven that donor areas in natural peatland can recover after ten years, similar studies on the recovery of harvested donor areas along existing linear features do not exist. This study aims to address this key knowledge gap by studying six donor areas (ranging from 3 to 11 years post-harvest) along existing winter roads for the restoration of two well pads and one access road in northern Alberta. We will compare and investigate environmental factors associated with vegetation development between donor, non-harvested control, and adjacent natural areas. This study will provide assurance for industry and practitioners to incorporate and apply the MLTT in the restoration of in-situ features. The findings of our study can help regulators set benchmark conditions for reclamation certification and help update and develop wetland-related policies and land management guidelines.