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Skip to Search Results- 1Afshar, Shima
- 1Aghaie, Ermia
- 1Amoako, Kwaku Akrofi
- 1Archibald, Heather Anne
- 1Baker, Kathleen E.N.
- 1Batycky, Anya
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Improving forb establishment and restoring soil function in disturbed landscapes: Hitchhiking native forbs with white spruce
DownloadSpring 2018
Changing requirements for land reclamation in Alberta has led to the need for revegetation of disturbed lands with native woody and herbaceous species. Our study involves âHitchhiker Plantingâ which is similar to companion cropping in agriculture, with the goal of improving native forb...
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Influence of Amendments and Soil Depth on Available Nutrients and Microbial Dynamics in Contrasting Topsoil Materials Used for Oil Sands Reclamation
DownloadFall 2015
As of December 2013, the cumulative area disturbed by oil sands mining in NE Alberta was 896 km2 out of an estimated final footprint of 4,800 km2 – all of which will require reclamation. Expensive handling costs and scarce soil resources necessitate judicious management and application of...
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Influence of Environmental and Site Factors and Biotic Interactions on Vegetation Development Following Surface Mine Reclamation Using Coversoil Salvaged From Forest Sites
DownloadSpring 2017
Industrial activities such as surface mining are responsible for disturbing large areas of forest land. Reclamation methods must facilitate the development of soil, of a diverse natural understory plant community, and of a tree canopy. In my thesis research, I examined the response of vegetation...
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Influence of Soil Cap Depth and Vegetation on Reclamation of Phosphogypsum Stacks in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta
DownloadSpring 2013
This study quantified environmental parameters to develop reclamation strategies for phosphogypsum stacks. Research was conducted on phosphogypsum stack experimental plots established in 2006 (6 soil cap depths, 5 vegetation treatments), and soil capped slopes seeded in 1998. Significant root...
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Life Cycle Assessment of Transportation Fuels from Canada’s Oil Sands through Development of Theoretical Engineering Models
DownloadFall 2014
Oil sands in Canada are significant in fulfilling the current and the future energy demands of North America. The development of these resources, besides the increased awareness in global carbon management, has given way to various policy regulations such as the Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS)...
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Fall 2011
One of the major issues in the current oil sands waste management techniques is a lack of a direct linkage between the long-term mine plans and the quantity of the tailings produced downstream. This research is focused on developing a linkage between oil sands long-term mine plans and the final...
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Marsh reclamation in the oil sands of Alberta: providing benchmarks and models of vegetation development
DownloadFall 2014
A key objective of the Alberta oil sands industry is to reclaim the post-mined landscape to “equivalent land capability” (Harris 2007). Vitt and Bhatti (2012) proposed a restoration framework for boreal disturbances. They suggested that to increase chances of achieving ecosystem equivalency and...
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Spring 2018
Climate change will continue to affect the Arctic more intensely than other biomes. These changes can have dramatic effects on biotic interactions that influence the functioning of these systems, including plant-herbivore interactions. Invertebrate herbivores strongly depend on external...
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Methane Production and Emission Mitigation in Oil Sands Tailings Concurrent with Hydrocarbon Degradation under Nitrogen Limited Conditions
DownloadFall 2020
Alberta’s oil sands generate large volumes of tailings from bitumen ore processing. These tailings ponds produce biogenic methane, which can be measured across 60-80% of the tailings surface. Based on current surface area data and emissions studies, tailings ponds could account for 8% of Canada’s...