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Fall 2023

Hynes, Brittany E

The redevelopment of understories is an often-overlooked aspect of forest restoration following anthropogenic disturbances. In my research I explored the feasibility of actively restoring forest understories through seedling planting. First, I examined the quality of nursery-grown boreal shrub...

Fall 2014

Campbell, Brett A

Aggregate resources are naturally occurring deposits of sand, gravel and crushed stone that are integral components to the construction of everything from roads and sidewalks, to hospitals and schools. Mining these resources can release deleterious sediments, salt and chemicals into watercourses,...

Spring 2020

Hudson, Jessica Jacquelene

Herbaceous forbs hitchhiked, or co-grown, with a woody species, is a solution to establish both native woody and herbaceous species at recently disturbed sites. The broad study objectives were to (1) assess the growth of fireweed hitchhiked with three deciduous woody species and one conifer over...

Spring 2018

deBortoli, Leah A.

Reclamation efforts that promote the re-establishment of native tree and plant communities subsequent of large-scale oil sands mining land disturbances are crucial in restoring natural ecosystems. It is important that reclamation procedures capable of facilitating the establishment of native...

Spring 2019

Weber, Tien L

Cattle production contributes the largest portion of livestock agricultural greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in Canada mostly in the form of methane (CH4). Efforts to reduce CH4 emissions have led to modification of diet composition for livestock, resulting in a corresponding change in manure...

Spring 2024

Lau, Nicole

Mountain pine beetle (MPB; Dendroctonus ponderosae) disturbances, amplified by climate change, have led to extensive tree mortality and ecosystem succession in boreal forests across western Canada. Often following attack, former ectomycorrhizal (EM) pine stands in Alberta are replaced by...

Fall 2020

Brown, Nicholas

While bitumen is one of the oldest construction materials in the world and currently provides an important fuel needed to sustain our modern lifestyle, the disturbances caused by extracting and refining this material are considerable, with 895 km2 of land being disturbed in Alberta as of 2018...

Spring 2024

Batycky, Anya

Hydrolyzed polyacrylamide (HPAM) is a common flocculant used in oil sands tailings dewatering technologies. Although HPAM is regularly used in tailings treatment and will eventually be incorporated into the reclaimed landscape of the oil sands, there are knowledge gaps surrounding the environment...

Fall 2013

Newton, Jeffrey S.

Soils have traditionally been treated as a “black box” due to the challenges of studying this complex medium. The living component of soil consists of a complex network of roots and mostly very small, highly abundant, and extremely diverse group of microbes, protists, and other invertebrates. In...

Fall 2018

Valek, Erika Rovena

Forest reclamation sites are often located in areas not suited for agriculture and therefore have poor soil conditions. To assist in the rehabilitation of forests on these types of sites, organic amendments can be used. Close to large urban centers, compost derived from municipal organic waste...