Trembling aspen root suckering and stump sprouting response to above ground disturbance on a reclaimed boreal oil sands site in Alberta, Canada

New Forests ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 50 (5) ◽  
pp. 771-784 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie A. Jean ◽  
Bradley D. Pinno ◽  
Scott E. Nielsen
Keyword(s):  
Oil Sands ◽  
Trembling Aspen ◽  
Stump Sprouting ◽  
Root Suckering

scholarly journals Juvenile response to conifer release alternatives on aspen-white spruce boreal mixedwood sites.Part II: Quality of aspen regeneration

2005 ◽  
Vol 81 (4) ◽  
pp. 548-558 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sylvia Greifenhagen ◽  
Douglas G Pitt ◽  
Monique C Wester ◽  
F. Wayne Bell
Keyword(s):  
Populus Tremuloides ◽  
Block Design ◽  
Ground Level ◽  
Fibre Production ◽  
Post Treatment ◽  
Stem Volume ◽  
Randomized Block Design ◽  
Stump Sprouting ◽  
Root Suckering

This study, a component of the Fallingsnow Ecosystem Project, was designed to investigate the effects of conifer release alternatives on the quality of regenerating trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.). A randomized block design was used to compare untreated aspen with aspen growing in areas treated with two broadcast cutting treatments (brushsaw and Silvana Selective) and two broadcast herbicide treatments (glyphosate and triclopyr). The glyphosate treatment virtually eliminated aspen, whereas triclopyr tended to top-kill aspen, resulting in lateral dominance. Both fall cutting treatments generated prolific aspen root suckering and stump sprouting. Stain was common in aspen across the study site in damaged, untreated, and post-treatment stems, indicating that stain develops rapidly in young aspen suckers. Stems damaged by the treatments had higher incidences of decay (33% of cut stems and 10% of herbicide-damaged stems) than untreated aspen (8% of stems); however, decay volume was low for all treatments (1–4% of total stem volume affected). The location of decay (e.g., near ground level in cut stems) and presence of stem crooks in herbicide-treated aspen are important effects of the treatments on aspen quality. Armillaria root disease, which was found throughout the study site, was more prevalent in roots of treatment-damaged and untreated aspen than in suckers that originated post-treatment. These differences can be attributed to proximity to parent stumps, prevalence of root wounds, and older age of damaged and untreated stems. Key words: aspen quality, decay, conifer release, vegetation management, fibre production

Climate-sensitive height–age models for top height trees in natural and reclaimed oil sands stands in Alberta, Canada

2019 ◽  
pp. 297-307
Author(s):  
Yuqing Yang ◽  
Shongming Huang ◽  
Robert Vassov ◽  
Brad Pinno ◽  
Sophan Chhin
Keyword(s):  
Populus Tremuloides ◽  
Picea Glauca ◽  
Oil Sands ◽  
Pinus Banksiana ◽  
White Spruce ◽  
Analysis Data ◽  
Jack Pine ◽  
Trembling Aspen ◽  
Climate Data ◽  
Positive Effects

Climate-sensitive height–age models were developed for top height trees of trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.), jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.), and white spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss) in natural and reclaimed oil sands stands. We used stem analysis data collected from the Athabasca oil sands region in northern Alberta, Canada, and climate data generated by the ClimateWNA model. Height–age trajectories differed between top height trees in natural and reclaimed stands for jack pine and white spruce, but not for trembling aspen. At a given age, white spruce top height trees were taller and jack pine top height trees were shorter in reclaimed stands than those in natural stands, suggesting that it is easier to achieve similar forest productivity for oil sands sites reclaimed with white spruce stands than for sites reclaimed with jack pine stands. The principal climate variables were growing season (May to September) precipitation averaged over the previous 10 years for trembling aspen and jack pine and summer (June to August) precipitation averaged over the previous 10 years for white spruce. These variables had positive effects on the height–age trajectories.

Capping dewatered oil sands fluid fine tailings with salvaged reclamation soils at varying depths to grow woody plants

2020 ◽  
Vol 100 (4) ◽  
pp. 546-557
Author(s):  
Ryan S. Lalonde ◽  
Bradley D. Pinno ◽  
M. Derek MacKenzie ◽  
Nicholas Utting
Keyword(s):  
Plant Growth ◽  
Populus Tremuloides ◽  
Oil Sands ◽  
Land Reclamation ◽  
Surface Mining ◽  
High Water ◽  
High Water Content ◽  
Trembling Aspen ◽  
Fine Tailings ◽  
Fluid Fine Tailings

Managing fluid fine tailings (FFT) present a major cause of industrial and environmental concerns in oil sands surface mining production. A potential management solution is to dewater and cap the FFT solids for use in land reclamation. A 16 wk greenhouse study was conducted to assess whether FFT centrifuge cake with caps of various reclamation soil mixes (forest floor mineral mix, peat mineral mix, and a mixture of both) and depths (0, 5, 10, and 20 cm) would support growth of trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides — native broadleaf tree) and beaked willow (Salix bebbiana — native broadleaf shrub). Beaked willow had a much greater survival rate (100%) when grown directly in FFT cake compared with trembling aspen (16.7%). Plants grown directly in FFT cake were negatively impacted by high water content, low nitrate supply rates, and high metal concentrations with beaked willow seedlings having 10 times higher foliar concentrations of Al, Cr, and Ti compared with any other treatments. Adding soil caps substantially increased aboveground biomass for both species, but differences among soil cap types and depths did not have as significant of an effect on plant growth. Results from this study show that capping FFT substantially improves woody plant growth, and S. bebbiana and P. tremuloides are potentially suitable species for tailings reclamation.

scholarly journals Trembling aspen seedling establishment, growth and response to fertilization on contrasting soils used in oil sands reclamation

2012 ◽  
Vol 92 (1) ◽  
pp. 143-151 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bradley D. Pinno ◽  
Simon M. Landhäusser ◽  
M. Derek MacKenzie ◽  
Sylvie A. Quideau ◽  
Pak S. Chow
Keyword(s):  
Populus Tremuloides ◽  
Seedling Establishment ◽  
Oil Sands ◽  
Land Reclamation ◽  
N Fertilizer ◽  
Initial Growth ◽  
Trembling Aspen ◽  
Organic Mineral ◽  
Foliar Phosphorus ◽  
Oil Sands Reclamation

Pinno, B. D., Landhäusser, S. M., MacKenzie, M. D., Quideau, S. A. and Chow, P. S. 2012. Trembling aspen seedling establishment, growth and response to fertilization on contrasting soils used in oil sands reclamation. Can. J. Soil Sci. 92: 143–151. Trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides) is an important tree species for land reclamation. This study determined trembling aspen germination, establishment, initial growth and response to fertilizer on contrasting oil sands reclamation soils. In a greenhouse, eight soils varying in total nitrogen and available phosphorus were treated with no fertilizer (control), phosphorus and potassium (PK), nitrogen (N) and all three (NPK). Soil had the greatest impact on aspen growth when no fertilizer was applied with the best growth occurring on organic-mineral material soils where growth was positively correlated with extractable and foliar potassium but not to nitrogen or phosphorus. With PK and N fertilizer, growth increases were positively correlated with foliar phosphorus concentrations of the corresponding controls. NPK fertilizer caused greater growth, bud set and root:leaf mass ratio compared with PK or N fertilizer. Soil type had little impact on germination and establishment, indicating natural aspen seedlings can potentially regenerate on all of these soils. In oil sands mining reclamation where these soils are used as surface materials, organic-mineral mixes had the greatest potential without fertilizer. With fertilizer, NPK provided maximum growth and developmental benefits.

Nitrate stimulates root suckering in trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides)

2010 ◽  
Vol 40 (10) ◽  
pp. 1962-1969 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon M. Landhäusser ◽  
Xianchong Wan ◽  
Victor J. Lieffers ◽  
Pak S. Chow
Keyword(s):  
Populus Tremuloides ◽  
Forest Succession ◽  
Soil Nutrient ◽  
Root Systems ◽  
Trembling Aspen ◽  
Soil Nutrient Availability ◽  
Mineral N ◽  
Root Suckering ◽  
Subsequent Regeneration ◽  
Nutrient Solutions

In a greenhouse experiment, we tested whether the initiation, density, and growth of trembling aspen ( Populus tremuloides Michx.) root suckers are related to postdisturbance soil nutrient availability. After decapitation of functional 2-year-old aspen root systems, nutrient solutions adjusted for various concentrations and forms of mineral N, different concentrations of Ca2+, K+, or PO43–, and different pH were applied to the roots and their suckering response was assessed after 35 days. Root systems treated with NO3– at concentrations of 1.5 and 7.5 mmol/L produced nearly double the sucker density compared with an unfertilized control, while fertilizing with N in the form of NH4+ did not affect sucker numbers, regardless of concentrations. The best growth of suckers was achieved with a mixture of 15 mmol/L NO3– + NH4+whereas the lowest growth was observed with 15 mmol/L NH4+. Neither Ca2+, K+, and PO43– nor the pH tested in this study impacted sucker density or growth. This has implications for understanding the impacts of disturbance on forest succession and the subsequent regeneration of aspen stands. The results suggest that the amount of nitrification, depending on the type and severity of disturbances, will influence the regeneration density of aspen.

Megaloads and Mobilization

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Corrie Grosse
Keyword(s):  
Oil Sands ◽  
Fossil Fuel ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Nez Perce ◽  
Grassroots Organizations ◽  
Canadian Province ◽  
Creation Story ◽  
Oil Companies ◽  
Heavy Crude ◽  
Ways Of Life

From 2011 to 2014 fossil fuel corporations trucked tar sands processing machinery along rural Idaho highways. The machinery was bound for the world's largest deposits of tar or oil sands, a heavy crude oil substance called bitumen, located in the western Canadian province of Alberta. These loads of machinery, what became known as megaloads, encountered much resistance. Throughout Idaho and the surrounding region, a network organized opposition. Neighbors, grassroots organizations, nonprofits, and the Nez Perce and other tribes all collaborated. They held information sessions, protested, waged legal battles, monitored the loads, and blockaded highways. What oil companies hoped would be a cost-effective solution for transporting their megaloads became a David versus Goliath, Coyote versus the Monster—to reference the Nez Perce creation story—struggle to protect rural and indigenous ways of life and sovereignty, and the planet.

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