Future of Shrubs in Oil Sands Reclamation Workshop
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Future of Shrubs in Oil Sands Reclamation Workshop Oil Sands Research and Information Network University of Alberta December, 2013 Oil Sands Research and Information Network The Oil Sands Research and Information Network (OSRIN) is a university-based, independent organization that compiles, interprets and analyses available knowledge about managing the environmental impacts to landscapes and water impacted by oil sands mining and gets that knowledge into the hands of those who can use it to drive breakthrough improvements in regulations and practices. OSRIN is a project of the University of Alberta’s School of Energy and the Environment (SEE). OSRIN was launched with a start-up grant of $4.5 million from Alberta Environment and a $250,000 grant from the Canada School of Energy and Environment Ltd. OSRIN provides: Governments with the independent, objective, and credible information and analysis required to put appropriate regulatory and policy frameworks in place Media, opinion leaders and the general public with the facts about oil sands development, its environmental and social impacts, and landscape/water reclamation activities – so that public dialogue and policy is informed by solid evidence Industry with ready access to an integrated view of research that will help them make and execute environmental management plans – a view that crosses disciplines and organizational boundaries OSRIN recognizes that much research has been done in these areas by a variety of players over 40 years of oil sands development. OSRIN synthesizes this collective knowledge and presents it in a form that allows others to use it to solve pressing problems. Citation This report may be cited as: Oil Sands Research and Information Network, 2013. Future of Shrubs in Oil Sands Reclamation Workshop. Oil Sands Research and Information Network, University of Alberta, School of Energy and the Environment, Edmonton, Alberta. OSRIN Report No. TR-43. 71 pp. Copies of this report may be obtained from OSRIN at [email protected] or through the OSRIN website at http://www.osrin.ualberta.ca/en/OSRINPublications.aspx or directly from the University of Alberta’s Education & Research Archive at http://hdl.handle.net/10402/era.17507. i Table of Contents LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................................... i LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................................... i REPORT SUMMARY.................................................................................................................... ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................... iv 1 INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................................................1 2 SESSION 1: REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS AND POLICIES ................................2 2.1 Non-Regulatory Impacts on Shrub Use ...................................................................3 3 SESSION 2: CURRENT STATE OF KNOWLEDGE ......................................................4 3.1 Do We Know Which Shrubs to Use And Why? ......................................................4 3.2 Do We Know How They Can Be Collected, Stored, Grown And Seeded/Planted?4 3.3 Can We Get The Shrubs We Need When We Need Them? ....................................4 3.4 Do We Know How Shrubs Perform in Reclamation Setting(s)? .............................5 3.5 Do We Know Where (From Whom) to Obtain Information? ..................................6 4 SESSION 3: KNOWLEDGE GAPS AND POLICY NEEDS ...........................................6 4.1 What Constitutes “Successful Shrub Reclamation”? ...............................................6 4.2 What Research Is Required Into Shrub Species Selection? .....................................7 4.3 What Research Is Required To Collect, Store, Grow And Seed/Plant Shrubs? ......8 4.4 What Scale Of Research Is Required – Lab, Plot, Large-Scale Demonstration? ....9 4.5 What Policies Are Required Or Need To Be Updated? ...........................................9 5 SESSION 4: NEXT STEPS ..............................................................................................10 6 INFORMATION SOURCES.............................................................................................13 6.1 Legislation and Policy............................................................................................13 6.2 Shrub Taxonomy, Guides and Characteristics .......................................................14 6.3 Shrub Selection and Evaluation .............................................................................14 6.4 Shrub Tolerances ...................................................................................................15 6.5 Shrub Inoculation ...................................................................................................16 6.6 Shrubs in Reclamation ...........................................................................................17 7 GLOSSARY ......................................................................................................................20 7.1 Terms .....................................................................................................................20 ii 7.2 Acronyms ...............................................................................................................21 APPENDIX 1: Workshop Agenda................................................................................................23 APPENDIX 2: Workshop Attendees ............................................................................................24 APPENDIX 3: Session Presentations and Questions ...................................................................26 APPENDIX 4: Session 1 Regulatory Requirements and Policies Notes ......................................39 APPENDIX 5: Session 2 Current State of Knowledge Notes ......................................................45 APPENDIX 6: Session 3 Knowledge Gaps and Policy Needs Notes ..........................................51 APPENDIX 7: Session 4 What’s Next Notes ...............................................................................59 APPENDIX 8: 1978 Shrubs Workshop ........................................................................................63 LIST OF OSRIN REPORTS .........................................................................................................67 iii LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Key steps and responsibilities in shrubs research; public includes Aboriginal communities .......................................................................................................... 12 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Key steps in shrub research implementation plan ................................................. 12 Figure 2. Matching species to site conditions ...................................................................... 45 Figure 3. Aspen as moisture stress bioindicator. .................................................................. 54 i REPORT SUMMARY A group of 48 people from government, academia, consultants and the oil sands and plant production industries gathered on November 25, 2013 to discuss the current state of knowledge about shrubs and their current and future use in oil sands reclamation. The Workshop was organized around four key topics: Session 1: Regulatory Requirements and Policies Session 2: Current State of Knowledge Session 3: Knowledge Gaps and Policy Needs Session 4: Next Steps In Session 1, participants noted a number of regulatory requirements and policies that support shrub use. However, a far larger list of impediments was identified. These can be roughly divided into two main themes: (1) impediments to efficient and effective use of shrubs; and (2) impediments to effective ecological use of shrubs. In Session 2, participants said we know which species to use but maybe not why – current planting density rules require x stems/ha and species doesn’t matter so there is no incentive for diversity or selection of species attributes that could be exploited to enhance reclamation success. Participants felt collection, storage, growing and seeding issues are understood for 50% to 75% of species but some are very difficult to germinate and grow. They noted that shrubs are not produced commercially in the volumes needed, and this will be even more of a problem when reclamation ramps up in terms of area per year. Participants felt that we have a relatively good understanding of shrub reclamation for regular reclamation sites (no inhibiting factors) for both early and late successional species but we are not as advanced for early successional stages in challenging sites and have little knowledge and experience with late successional species in challenging materials. Finally there was the sense that there are lots of people and sources of information available. Much of the information is in grey literature; the comment was made that we also need to recognize grey knowledge – the knowledge (generally operational experience of growers and company reclamation staff) that isn’t even written down. A better mechanism is needed to access and share the information. In Session 3, participants provided a long list of characteristics that could be used to determine successful shrub reclamation, but noted that success was seen to be determined by the goal,