Effect of soil cover system design on cover system performance and early tree establishment ...

• Main Authors: Barber, L. A., Bockstette, J., Christensen, D. O., Tallon, L. K., Landhäusser, S. M.
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: The University of British Columbia 2016
• Subjects: Fort McMurray
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.14288/1.0305864; https://doi.library.ubc.ca/10.14288/1.0305864

Syncrude completed construction of a field-scale soil cover system trial at the Aurora North mine operations in Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada in 2012. Syncrude, university researchers, and consultants developed the study design with an overall objective of determining appropriate soil cover system designs and capping depth(s) for overburden reclamation at the Aurora North mine operation. Specifically, the study was designed to address the uncertainty of reclaiming upland areas using coarse textured surficial soil materials that contain embedded naturally occurring oil sand that is comprised of petroleum hydrocarbons over lean oil sand overburden that also contains petroleum hydrocarbons. The trial consisted of 36 one hectare cells, made up of 12 treatment options varying in capping material thicknesses and types. All treatments were constructed in triplicate. The research cells were instrumented and planted with three native boreal forest tree species in varying densities. Key mechanisms and processes that ...