|
|
Soil Salvage and Refugia
For oil sands companies land reclamation is a major
environmental issue. One of the best ways to reclaim land is to recycle
it. Mining and in-situ production operations carefully salvage soil, muskeg
and other organic material disturbed by cut line construction,
overburden removal and other operations. This salvaged material
speeds up regeneration of reclaimed land. Seeds, spores, even
bacteria and fungi, contained in soils and muskeg help recreate natural ecosystems
more quickly. Scientists have also found that recycling slash and
deadfall from land clearing operations, instead of burning it, adds
nutrients to the soil and provides habitat for birds and small
mammals. What used to be seen as waste now is seen as a valuable
resource.
Leaving areas of undisturbed forest around disturbed
land in mines or other developments is also a way to encourage
recolonization by native plants and animals. Environmental
scientists call these undisturbed areas "refugia", and they
can have a major impact on the success of reclamation efforts. Ecosystems are dynamic and always changing. Plants and animals
live and die and decomposers, such as bacteria and fungi, recycle
organic material. Undisturbed ecosystems evolve over time through
a series of stages. This is called succession and it is completely
natural. For example, after a fire in the boreal forest small
plants and bushes will begin to grow before trees, and after trees begin
to appear aspen forest will gradually change to pine a spruce.
Refugia can help the process of succession to begin and make it more
rapid.
Reprinted with permission of Alberta Community Development, Cultural
Facilities and Historical Resources Division. For more information
on the Oilsands and the Environment, visit the Oilsands
Discovery Centre!
[Alberta
land Reclamation][Surface
Coal Mining]
[Forestry and
Pipelines][Legistlation][Oil
Sands]
[Waste Disposal Sites][What
Can You Do?]
[Soil Salvage
and Refugia]
|