Description:

Soil stockpiles are essential to the reclamation of large- and small-scale oil and gas sites in Alberta. However, stockpiling soils can lead to the degradation of seed banks and changes to plant communities and nutrient availability. This talk will examine the impacts of stockpiling soils on plant diversity, composition, depth of seed storage, the relationships between the aboveground and seed bank plant communities, and nutrient availability in stockpiles compared to nearby boreal forests.

 

SPEAKER BIOGRAPHY:

Jennifer Buss works as a research assistant with the Canadian Forest Service in Edmonton. She is currently researching bioenergy use in remote and Indigenous communities. Jennifer completed a BSc in Environmental and Conservation Sciences and a MSc in Land Reclamation and Remediation, both at the University of Alberta.

Alberta Soils Network - A comparison between reclamation stockpile and boreal forest seed banks and above ground plant communities.

  • November 27, 2020