Maintaining Ecosystem Function by Restoring Forest Biodiversity – Reviewing Decision-Support Tools that link Biology, Hydrology and Geochemistry

Not all forest models are applicable to a meta-modelling approach. Hence, the objective of the research presented here was to identify and compare the available forest models already being used in research, and to evaluate their suitability for use as decision-support tools in designing successful restoration plans to bring forest biodiversity and function back to sites disturbed by industrial activities (mining in particular).This work was conducted with funding generously supplied by Total E&P Canada Ltd., Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Fact or Fiction: Oil Sands Reclamation

Surface mining for oil sands is radically transforming the Athabasca Boreal region of northeastern Alberta. The feverish expansion in oil sands development is based on the untested assumption that mined landscapes can be recovered to something close to the pre-development ecosystem after mining is complete. Reclamation is the final step mining companies are required to complete before mine closure. Defined in Alberta as the “stabilization, contouring, maintenance, conditioning or reconstruction of the surface of land,” reclamation is an essential component of responsible oil sands development. However, an assessment of the current policies and practices governing oil sands mine reclamation reveals an alarming range of challenges, uncertainties and risks that deserve immediate attention and broader public discussion. This report explores these issues to help demonstrate what is fact and what is fiction about oil sands mine reclamation

A Forest of Blue - Canada's Boreal Forest, the World's Waterkeeper

Describes how the lakes, rivers, and wetlands comprising the boreal forest preserve biodiversity, mitigate global climate change effects, and offer food and cultural benefits to rural communities. Suggests policies to limit damaging industrial activities

An Exploratory Methodology for Quantifying Land-cover Patterns Along Permanent Open-water and Disturbance Levels for Large-Scale Wetland Reclamation

Wetlands are multi-functional systems that provide a disproportionate number of ecosystem services given the spatial extent they occupy both nationally and globally. The ecological functioning of these wetlands is dependent on the structure of the landscape, which poses unique challenges when reclaiming wetlands in areas where resource extraction is occurring. Resource extraction mega-projects require that entire landscapes be reclaimed and often involve timelines that necessitate the consideration of climate projections to create self-sustaining, naturally appearing wetlands, that integrate with the broader landscape and meet policy objectives. A parsimonious set of landscape metrics was applied to 13,676–1km2 random sample landscapes to quantify the variation in the composition and configuration of land-cover. Landscape metric values were compared across levels of the proportion of permanent open-water wetland (up to 20%), anthropogenic disturbance and across natural regions (i.e., Grassland, Parkland and Boreal). Results demonstrate statistical differences between landscapes comprising 0-80% and 80-99.9% disturbance in the Boreal and Parkland regions and statistically significant differences among the 0-20% disturbed landscapes in the Grassland region. While differences in landscape pattern were present among the disturbance levels between 0-80% in the Boreal and Parkland region, these were less systematic. Further, the majority (>85%) of permanent open-water wetlands in our samples were found to have less than or equal to eight percent (0.08km2) of their total area classified as permanent open-water wetland, which is a smaller proportion than what is typically found in closure plans. This exploratory method highlights that permanent open-water alone is inadequate to capture changes resulting from anthropogenic disturbances in wetland-rich landscapes and that regulators should to enforce the creation of multiple wetland types and consider climate change in closure plans. We discuss our results, issues, the novelty of applying such methods to landscape-level reclamation and make suggestions for further work

Consideration of Uncertainties in Environmental Protection Plans and Follow-up Programs in Canadian EIA

The rationale for project-based environmental impact assessment (EIA) is to provide stakeholders and decision-makers with a complete understanding of a proposed project as well as a realistic representation of impacts on environmental processes. Environmental processes are known to be unstable, complex and sometimes hard to predict leading to the uncertainties about impacts. In project-based EIA, environmental processes tend to be simplified. Classifying uncertainties and evaluating their implications have been identified as an urgent need. Predictions about the kinds and severity of a project’s impacts are often wrong and mitigation measures less effective than anticipated. This study aims to evaluate the extent to which uncertainty is considered and addressed in Canadian EIA practice. Environmental protection plans (EPPs) and follow-up programs present opportunities for proponents to disclose and address uncertainties raised during the environmental impact predictions. Twelve Canadian Environmental Impacts Statements (EISs), post the Canadian Environment Assessment Act in 1995 and prior to the 2012 Canadian environmental legislation Act, were reviewed. This study shows that in the EPPs and follow-up programs, uncertainty is never discussed in depth. There is a lack of suitable terminology and consistency in how uncertainty is disclosed reflecting the need for explicit guidance. When uncertainty is acknowledged, the authors took various approaches to address it. Seven kinds of approaches were identified in the reports. However, uncertainties were still never addressed in depth. This research clearly demonstrates that project-based Environmental Protection Plans and follow-up programs in Canadian EIA are not as transparent with respect to uncertainties as they should be, and that uncertainties generally need to be better considered and communicated to stakeholders and decision-makers

Synthesis of current knowledge of the biophysical impacts of dredging and disposal on the Great Barrier Reef: report of an Independent Panel of Experts

[Extract] This report provides an independent synthesis of the current knowledge of the effects of dredging and sediment disposal on the physico-chemical environment and the biological values of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area (World Heritage Area), as assessed by an Expert Panel. Dredging and sediment disposal can change the physical and chemical environment and affect the biological values of the World Heritage Area. Many of these effects will be context dependent and will differ between locations, types and extent of dredging and sediment disposal activities. The Expert Panel's evaluation identified the following key direct and indirect effects

Health assessment of tree swallows (tachycineta bicolor) nesting on the Athabasca Oil Sands, Alberta

Oil sands mining companies in Alberta, Canada, are planning to create wetlands for the bioremediation of mining waste materials as part of a reclamation strategy. To assess feasibility, experimental wetlands mimicking proposed reclamation scenarios were constructed on mining leases. This research assessed the health of tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) nesting on these sites where they were naturally exposed to a mixture of chemicals including unrecovered bitumen, naphthenic acids (NAs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Endpoints reflecting health were compared among three experimental wetlands and one reference site. In order to specifically investigate toxicity of NAs to birds, an experimental exposure to NAs was also conducted on a subset of nestlings on the reference site. In 2003 and 2004, approximately 50 breeding pairs (total, per year) nesting on the following sites were monitored: Suncor’s “Consolidated Tailings” and “Natural Wetlands”; Syncrude’s “Demo Pond” and “Poplar Creek” reference site. In 2003, reproductive success was very low on OSPM-sites compared to the reference site, but was relatively unaffected in 2004. Compromised reproductive performance in 2003 was linked to harsh weather, during which mortality rates of nestlings reached 100% on the site with the highest levels of PAHs and NAs, while they did not surpass 50% on the reference site. In 2004, mortality rates were low but nestlings from OSPM-sites weighed less and showed greater hepatic detoxification efforts (etoxyresorufin-o-deethylase activity) than those on the reference site. Furthermore, nestlings on OSPM-sites exhibited higher levels of thyroid hormones and suffered parasitic burdens (Protocalliphora spp.) approximately twice that of those on the reference site. Several of these findings may be associated with low post-fledging survival, suggesting that wet landscape reclamation strategy is not optimal for avian species and may require improvement. As part of a separate study investigating toxicity of naphthenic acids, twenty nestlings from the reference site were randomly selected for an experimental exposure. Nestlings received 0.1 ml/day of NAs (15g/L) orally from day 7 to day 13 of age while being reared normally by their free-ranging parents. Nestling growth, hematocrit, blood biochemistry, organ weights and etoxyresorufin-o-deethylase activity (EROD) activity appeared unaffected by naphthenic acids. No toxic changes were detected on histopathological evaluation of major organs. These findings suggest that for nestlings reared on oil sands reclaimed sites, exposure to other chemicals such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons is a greater concern than exposure to NAs. However, this study did not investigate the chronic or reproductive toxicity of naphthenic acids. More research still needs to be conducted as a part of an assessment of the sustainability of wet landscape reclamation because a previous study found that chronic exposure to NAs severely compromised reproduction in mammals

Relative distribution and biomass of invertebrates in fens and marshes in the boreal region of Northeastern Alberta

Habitat selection determines the environment characteristics experienced by the individual. Arthropod assemblages are better predicted by plant community characteristics than by other environmental features. However, the role of local habitat characteristics (microhabitat structure, food) in regulating invertebrate distribution is less well known. The invertebrate fauna of northeastern Alberta\u27s boreal peatlands and wetlands is especially poorly documented. I investigated invertebrate-vegetation associations of between and within fens and marshes, and variation across wetland hydrological zones. Family richness and biomass were greatest in wet meadow zones of marshes. Sampling instruments used to evaluate microhabitats collected complementary invertebrate types and different abundances. Vacuum sampling captured many phytophilous and soil associated fauna. Sticky traps caught mainly small-bodied, flying insects. Aerial sweep netting caught some large organisms but inadequately represented wetland biota. Overall, invertebrate composition was better predicted by vegetation zone than by hydrological regime or plant species richness within wetlands

The potential for tidal power generation at western European coastal wetlands: identification of sites and their biological importance

The possible threats to western European coastal wetlands from tidal power generation were ascertained in this study by means of "desk-top" calculations and literature reviews. The physical characteristics of an estuary or embayment that may lead to economical tidal power generation were identified, the principal three being:- a macrotidal environment, i.e. greater than 4 metre tidal range,- a water depth along the barrage alignment of at least four metres,- a tidal prism behind the barrage alignment which is of sufficient magnitude. Using the "desk-top" Parametric Method which is based upon relationships amongst three of the key physical characteristics, the present study has tentatively identified 33 barrage alignments at 26 sites in western Europe which potentially offer economical tidal power generation. For each of these 26 sites, a provisional inventory of data relating to their natural resources was compiled. The inventory summarises the types of information available and their sources. Extreme variability exists between sites in the level of detail of such data. Possible effects on the biological importance of an estuary from a tidal power barrage were considered from the ornithological viewpoint. A literature review suggests that our understanding of the mechanisms controlling an estuary's bird community is relatively well advanced. However, a review of environmental impact assessments showed that none have been able to predict, with any confidence, the effect of a tidal power barrage upon bhds. This is due to a combination of factors: the lack of data on natural resources, an inadequate understanding of the interactive processes between the different estuarine components and an incomplete picture of the hydrological and sedimentation patterns post-barrage. An example of our current knowledge and its limitations is illustrated through a desk study of the ornithological implications of tidal power generation at the Burry Inlet, South Wales