Revegetation of tailings sand without a soil cover in the Alberta oil sands

摘要

Reclamation in the oil sands in Alberta is a high priority and can be challenging. Suncor Energy is in the process of reclaiming one of its consolidated tailings (CT) ponds (Pond 5). The CT is being capped with a layer of petroleum coke to accelerate the creation of a trafficable surface, and then with tailings sand. As these CT dewater, a temporary reclamation vegetative cover over the tailings sand was needed to stabilise the sand against water and wind erosion prior to final reclamation. Criteria for native plant species selection for the cover crop were based on their ability to grow rapidly, be drought and possibly salt tolerant and provide a vegetation cover for at least three years. This study aims to assess the potential of some native grasses to directly grow and stabilise tailings sand and to determine nutritional requirements for optimal growth. The study was initiated in 2010 (Woosaree et al., 2010). Year 2011 provided an opportunity to study how well these native species continued to adapt and grow on direct tailings sands and if the underlying coke layer from the tailings ponds, presented any limitation to plant growth and survival.