Constraints on Northern Aggregate Pit Reclamation and Novel Reclamation Strategies for Enhancing Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning

该项目将解决安大略省东北部聚集体遗址植物恢复和生物多样性的局限性。boracry - laurentian大学的研究团队将探索新的土壤修正和种植策略，以促进生物多样性和关键生态系统功能的恢复，如养分循环、碳储存、对干扰的恢复能力以及对地表水和地下水的保护。在1990年《综合资源法》之前就存在着许多“遗留”矿坑和采石场，该法案现在普遍要求对所有获准的地点进行逐步修复。由项目合作伙伴安大略省综合资源公司（TOARC）确定的一些遗留地点将用于研究；然而，一个关键的目标是还提供可在骨料生产和其他矿物开采部门进一步商业应用的协议，这些部门管理废石，作为其逐步和最终关闭和场地恢复业务的一部分。因此，研究小组和TOARC将与对低成本修复感兴趣的遗产遗址拥有地表权利的土地所有者以及金属采矿公司（他们也处理废石回收的挑战）和大型骨料生产公司合作，这些公司的遗址代表了当代修复的多个阶段。该项目的市场潜力很大，从土地所有者和TOARC对遗产遗址修复感兴趣，以改善环境影响，到我们地区以及全国和全球其他具有类似地表地质和气候的地区的所有当代骨料生产商。制定的协议将侧重于低成本解决方案，以改善长期恢复轨迹和广泛的生态系统服务，使综合生产和采矿部门更具财务竞争力，并为其获得更强的环境和社会经营许可证。学术研究小组与工业伙伴合作，将在土地复垦、恢复和生物多样性方面产生新的知识和专门知识，以协助集料生产者和采矿公司实现其恢复和关闭计划的目标。

This project will address the limitations to plant restoration and biodiversity in Northeastern Ontario aggregate sites. The Collège Boréal-Laurentian University research team will explore novel soil amendments and planting strategies to facilitate restoration of biodiversity and key ecosystem functions like nutrient cycling, carbon storage, resilience to disturbance, and protection of ground and surface waters. Numerous "legacy" pit and quarry sites exist from prior to the 1990 Aggregate Resources Act, which now universally requires progressive rehabilitation for all permitted sites. Some of these legacy sites, identified by the project partner, The Ontario Aggregate Resource Corporation (TOARC herein), will be used in the study; however, a key goal is to also contribute protocols that can be commercially applied further in the aggregate- production and other mineral mining sectors that manage waste rock as part of their operations towards progressive and final closure and site restoration. Thus, the research team and TOARC will work collaboratively with landowners with surface rights to legacy sites who are interested in low-cost rehabilitation as well as metal mining companies (who also deal with waste rock reclamation challenges) and larger aggregate-production companies with sites representing multiple stages of contemporary rehabilitation. The market-reach potential of the project is large, spanning from landowners and TOARC interested in legacy site rehabilitation to improve environmental impacts to potentially all contemporary aggregate producers in our region and in other regions with similar surficial geology and climate nationally and globally. Protocols developed will focus on low-cost solutions that improve the long-term rehabilitation trajectories and a broad range of ecosystem services, making the aggregate-production and mining sectors more financially competitive and earning them stronger environmental and social license to operate. In collaboration with industry partners, the academic research team, will generate new knowledge and expertise in the areas of land reclamation, restoration and biodiversity that will assist aggregate-producers and mining companies, achieve their rehabilitation and closure plan targets.