Photo supplied by Matthew Gutsch, Natural Resources Canada.

By Curtis Galbraith

Science

Boreal Wetland Centre part of research project on restoring vegetation growth on cut lines

Aug 15, 2024 | 6:00 AM

The Boreal Wetland Centre in Evergreen Park is playing a role in research on restoring vegetation to cut lines in the forest left by oil and gas exploration.

The researchers are with the Canadian Forest Service, a branch of Natural Resources Canada.

Scientist Jaime Pinzon says a lot of what he calls seismic lines do not show many signs of recovery even decades later, especially on peat lands.

The study is looking at soil mounding, creating dirt piles where tree cans grow.

Pinzon says this is a “common restoration technique.”

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“Part of the research is looking specifically at the effects of mounding on different ecosystem properties.”

“We are looking at biodiversity. We are looking at soil properties. We are looking at the actual changes in (mounds) over time. We are looking at soil moisture, soil temperature.”

Pinzon says mounding provides a a raised surface which can provide a better growing surface for tree seedlings. He adds excavators are used to dig up peat along the seismic lines to create these mounds.

Pinzon says this work started in the winter of 2018-19, and data has been collected at the site every summer since then.

He adds that so far, they have learned about the short-term effects mounding can have, both pros and cons.

“We have been seeing that mounded areas have improved soil moisture conditions compared to the untreated areas, which is one of the expected outcomes of the treatment, where you have better moisture conditions on the mounds.”

Pinzon says this gives hope that mounding works when it comes to managing soil moisture along seismic lines.

He adds they have also noticed the mounds settle over time.

“We have seen, at least in our research, that the mounds have lost within this five-year period, about half of their height, which is quite considerable.”

“This has been contributing to increasing soil compaction on those mounded areas, even greater than you see on the untreated sites.”

Pinzon says this was an unexpected result, but important when it comes to how mounds are built.

He adds they have also noticed a change in species composition, but it is too early to tell if this is shifting these areas towards recovery or a new ecosystem. Longer-term data collection would be needed.

Pinzon says soil temperatures are higher on newly built peat mounds. This would have implications when it comes to what grows there, as seedlings have more stressful conditions with higher temperatures.

“Normally, people get very excited when they see seedlings naturally occurring on the mounds, but (it is) one thing having a lot of seedlings and a very different thing having a lot of seedlings surviving over time.”

Pinzon says the survival rate for this natural regeneration is “relatively low.”

He is hoping data collection will continue at the site at the Boreal Wetland Centre will continue long-term.