Abstract
Ecological processes driving tree success in the early stages of succession are complex and often poorly understood, involving direct and indirect relationships among multiple agents modulated by legacies. Reclamation areas of open-pit mines provide a unique opportunity to study these relationships, as these sites are often homogeneous and have few ecological legacies. Our study evaluated the early performance of three boreal tree species planted at different densities over a large reclaimed landscape (57 ha) in northern Alberta, Canada, that varied in landscape topography, surface soils, and coarse woody material. A range of soil, topographical, and seedling characteristics were measured over five growing seasons. The two surface soils had stark differences in their physical and chemical properties. Overall, seedling survival was high (> 80%) for jack pine (Pinus banksiana) and white spruce (Picea glauca) and somewhat lower (60%) for trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides). All three species grew taller in the fine-textured than in the coarse-textured soils. Linear models identified simple relationships among some of the monitored variables. To further explore more complex relationships, we built a structural equation model for jack pine growth, 2 and 5 years after planting. On coarse-textured soil, the factors controlling pine growth shifted from intrinsic factors of seedling quality in the second growing season to more complex interactions in the fifth growing season, driven by soil nutrients, water availability and colonizing vegetation. We believe these models have the potential to be useful in forest reclamation, by identifying driving factors that could be monitored to indicate reclamation success.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development (2013) Criteria and indicators framework for oil sands mine reclamation certification. Fort McMurray, AB. September 18, 2012
Andersen CP, Bussler BH, Chaney WR et al (1989) Concurrent establishment of ground cover and hardwood trees on reclaimed mined land and unmined reference sites. For Ecol Manag 28:81–99
Baker TP, Jordan GJ, Baker SC (2016) Microclimatic edge effects in a recently harvested forest: do remnant forest patches create the same impact as large forest areas? For Ecol Manag 365:128–136. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.FORECO.2016.01.022
Barr AG, Black TA, Hogg EH et al (2007) Climatic controls on the carbon and water balances of a boreal aspen forest, 1994–2003. Glob Change Biol 13:561–576. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2486.2006.01220.x
Bazzaz FA (1979) The physiological ecology of plant succession. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 10:351–371. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.es.10.110179.002031
Beattie M (1996) An ecosystem approach to fish and wildlife conservation. Ecol Appl 6:696–699. https://doi.org/10.2307/2269463
Beatty SW (1984) Influence of microtopography and canopy species on spatial patterns of forest understory plants. Ecology 65:1406–1419. https://doi.org/10.2307/1939121
Beckingham JH, Archibald JD (1996) Field guide to ecosites of Northern Alberta. Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service, Northwest Region, Northern Forestry Centre, Edmonton, Alberta. Special Report 5
Bedford DR, Small EE (2008) Spatial patterns of ecohydrologic properties on a hillslope-alluvial fan transect, central New Mexico. CATENA 73:34–48. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.CATENA.2007.08.005
Bergeron Y, Leduc A, Harvey B, Gauthier S (2002) Natural fire regime: a guide for sustainable management of the Canadian boreal forest. Silva Fenn. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.553
Bockstette SW, Pinno BD, Dyck MF, Landhäusser SM (2017) Root competition, not soil compaction, restricts access to soil resources for aspen on a reclaimed mine soil. Botany 95:685–695. https://doi.org/10.1139/cjb-2016-0301
Brais S, David P, Ouimet R (2000) Impacts of wild fire severity and salvage harvesting on the nutrient balance of jack pine and black spruce boreal stands. For Ecol Manag 137:231–243. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0378-1127(99)00331-X
Brown RL, Naeth MA (2014) Woody debris amendment enhances reclamation after oil sands mining in Alberta, Canada. Restor Ecol 22:40–48. https://doi.org/10.1111/rec.12029
Carpenter FL, Nichols JD, Pratt RT, Young KC (2004) Methods of facilitating reforestation of tropical degraded land with the native timber tree, Terminalia amazonia. For Ecol Manag 202:281–291. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.FORECO.2004.07.040
Chazdon RL (2003) Tropical forest recovery: legacies of human impact and natural disturbances. Perspect Plant Ecol Evol Syst 6:51–71. https://doi.org/10.1078/1433-8319-00042
Comita LS, Uriarte M, Thompson J et al (2009) Abiotic and biotic drivers of seedling survival in a hurricane-impacted tropical forest. J Ecol 97:1346–1359. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2745.2009.01551.x
Cornett MW, Reich PB, Puettmann KJ (1997) Canopy feedbacks and microtopography regulate conifer seedling distribution in two Minnesota conifer-deciduous forests. Écoscience 4:353–364. https://doi.org/10.1080/11956860.1997.11682414
Devito KJ, Hokanson KJ, Moore PA et al (2017) Landscape controls on long-term runoff in subhumid heterogeneous Boreal Plains catchments. Hydrol Process 31:2737–2751. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.11213
Drozdowski BL, Naeth AM, Wilkinson SR (2012) Evaluation of substrate and amendment materials for soil reclamation at a diamond mine in the Northwest Territories, Canada. Can J Soil Sci 92:77–88. https://doi.org/10.4141/cjss2011-029
Dumas JBA (1831) Procédés de l’Analyse Organique. Ann Chim Phys 247:198–213
Eldridge DJ, Beecham G, Grace JB (2015) Do shrubs reduce the adverse effects of grazing on soil properties? Ecohydrology 8:1503–1513. https://doi.org/10.1002/eco.1600
Everham EM, Brokaw NVL (1996) Forest damage and recovery from catastrophic wind. Bot Rev 62:113–185. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02857920
Fisher JB, Badgley G, Blyth E (2012) Global nutrient limitation in terrestrial vegetation. Glob Biogeochem Cycles. https://doi.org/10.1029/2011GB004252
Foster DR, Aber JD, Melillo JM et al (1997) Forest response to disturbance and anthropogenic stress. Bioscience 47:437–445. https://doi.org/10.2307/1313059
Foster DR, Motzkin G, Slater B (1998) Land-use history as long-term broad-scale disturbance: regional forest dynamics in central New England. Ecosystems 1:96–119. https://doi.org/10.1007/s100219900008
Franklin JF, Spies TA, Van Pelt R et al (2002) Disturbances and structural development of natural forest ecosystems with silvicultural implications, using Douglas-fir forests as an example. For Ecol Manag 155:399–423. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0378-1127(01)00575-8
Franklin O, Näsholm T, Högberg P, Högberg MN (2014) Forests trapped in nitrogen limitation—an ecological market perspective on ectomycorrhizal symbiosis. New Phytol 203:657–666. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.12840
Frouz J, Kalčík J, Velichová V (2011) Factors causing spatial heterogeneity in soil properties, plant cover, and soil fauna in a non-reclaimed post-mining site. Ecol Eng 37:1910–1913. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.ECOLENG.2011.06.039
Garcia K, Zimmermann SD (2014) The role of mycorrhizal associations in plant potassium nutrition. Front Plant Sci 5:337. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2014.00337
Gilliam FS (2007) The ecological significance of the herbaceous layer in temperate forest ecosystems. Bioscience 57:845–858. https://doi.org/10.1641/B571007
Gilman EF, Grabosky J (2004) Mulch and planting depth affect live oak (Quercus virginiana Mill.) establishment. J Arboric 30:311–317
Gimenez O, Anker-Nilssen T, Grosbois V (2012) Exploring causal pathways in demographic parameter variation: path analysis of mark-recapture data. Methods Ecol Evol 3:427–432. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2041-210X.2011.00150.x
Government of Alberta (2017) Environmental protection and enhancement act. Revised Statutes of Alberta 2000 Chapter E-12. http://www.qp.alberta.ca/documents/acts/e12.pdf. Accessed 20 April 2018
Grace JB, Bollen KA (2007) Representing general theoretical concepts in structural equation models: the role of composite variables. Environ Ecol Stat 15:191–213. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10651-007-0047-7
Grace JB, Anderson TM, Olff H, Scheiner SM (2010) On the specification of structural equation models for ecological systems. Ecol Monogr 80:67–87. https://doi.org/10.1890/09-0464.1
Grace JB, Harrison S, Damschen EI (2011) Local richness along gradients in the Siskiyou herb flora: R. H. Whittaker revisited. Ecology 92:108–120. https://doi.org/10.1890/09-2137.1
Grace JB, Schoolmaster DR, Guntenspergen GR et al (2012) Guidelines for a graph-theoretic implementation of structural equation modeling. Ecosphere 3:art73. https://doi.org/10.1890/es12-00048.1
Grossnickle SC (2012) Why seedlings survive: influence of plant attributes. New For 43:711–738. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11056-012-9336-6
Haase DL (2008) Understanding forest seedling quality: measurements and interpretation. Tree Plant Notes 52:24–30
Haase DL, Rose R (1993) Soil moisture stress induces transplant shock in stored and unstored 2+ 0 Douglas-Fir seedlings of varying root volumes. For Sci 39:275–294
Hafner SD, Groffman PM (2005) Soil nitrogen cycling under litter and coarse woody debris in a mixed forest in New York State. Soil Biol Biochem 37:2159–2162. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.SOILBIO.2005.03.006
Hankin SL, Karst J, Landhäusser SM (2015) Influence of tree species and salvaged soils on the recovery of ectomycorrhizal fungi in upland boreal forest restoration after surface mining. Botany 93:267–277. https://doi.org/10.1139/cjb-2014-0132
Haskell DE, Flaspohler DJ, Webster CR, Meyer MW (2012) Variation in soil temperature, moisture, and plant growth with the addition of downed woody material on lakeshore restoration sites. Restor Ecol 20:113–121. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1526-100X.2010.00730.x
Hébert F, Boucher J-F, Bernier PY, Lord D (2006) Growth response and water relations of 3-year-old planted black spruce and jack pine seedlings in site prepared lichen woodlands. For Ecol Manag 223:226–236. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2005.11.005
Hember RA, Kurz WA, Coops NC (2017) Relationships between individual-tree mortality and water-balance variables indicate positive trends in water stress-induced tree mortality across North America. Glob Change Biol 23:1691–1710. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.13428
Hoffman EH (2016) Influence of environmental and site factors and biotic interactions on vegetation development following surface mine reclamation using coversoil salvaged from forest sites. University of Alberta
Hogg EH, Brandt JP, Michaelian M (2008) Impacts of a regional drought on the productivity, dieback, and biomass of western Canadian aspen forests. Can J For Res 38:1373–1384. https://doi.org/10.1139/x08-001
Homyak PM, Yanai RD, Burns DA et al (2008) Nitrogen immobilization by wood-chip application: protecting water quality in a northern hardwood forest. For Ecol Manag 255:2589–2601. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.FORECO.2008.01.018
Huang WZ, Schoenau JJ (1996) Microsite assessment of forest soil nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium supply rates in-field using ion exchange membranes. Commun Soil Sci Plant Anal 27:2895–2908. https://doi.org/10.1080/00103629609369748
Ivetić V, Grossnickle S, Škorić M (2016) Forecasting the field performance of Austrian pine seedlings using morphological attributes. iForest 10:99. https://doi.org/10.3832/ifor1722-009
Jacobs DF, Oliet JA, Aronson J et al (2015) Restoring forests: what constitutes success in the twenty-first century? New For 46:601–614. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11056-015-9513-5
Ketcheson SJ, Price JS, Carey SK et al (2016) Constructing fen peatlands in post-mining oil sands landscapes: challenges and opportunities from a hydrological perspective. Earth Sci Rev 161:130–139. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.EARSCIREV.2016.08.007
Kirdyanov A, Hughes M, Vaganov E et al (2003) The importance of early summer temperature and date of snow melt for tree growth in the Siberian Subarctic. Trees 17:61–69. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-002-0209-z
Knoop WT, Walker BH (1985) Interactions of woody and herbaceous vegetation in a southern African savanna. J Ecol 73:235. https://doi.org/10.2307/2259780
Kuuluvainen T (2002) Natural variability of forests as a reference for restoring and managing biological diversity in boreal Fennoscandia. Silva Fenn. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.552
Kwak J-H, Chang SX, Naeth MA, Schaaf W (2015) Coarse woody debris increases microbial community functional diversity but not enzyme activities in reclaimed oil sands soils. PLoS ONE 10:e0143857. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0143857
Laclau J-P, da Silva EA, Rodrigues Lambais G et al (2013) Dynamics of soil exploration by fine roots down to a depth of 10 m throughout the entire rotation in Eucalyptus grandis plantations. Front Plant Sci 4:243. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2013.00243
Landhäusser SM, Lieffers VJ (1998) Growth of Populus tremuloides in association with Calamagrostis canadensis. Can J For Res 28:396–401
Landhäusser SM, Pinno BD, Lieffers VJ, Chow PS (2012a) Partitioning of carbon allocation to reserves or growth determines future performance of aspen seedlings. For Ecol Manag 275:43–51. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.FORECO.2012.03.010
Landhäusser SM, Rodriguez-Alvarez J, Marenholtz EH, Lieffers VJ (2012b) Effect of stock type characteristics and time of planting on field performance of aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) seedlings on boreal reclamation sites. New For 43:679–693. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11056-012-9346-4
Larsen JA (1980) The boreal ecosystem, 1st edn. Academic Press, New York
Lee S-Y (2007) Structural equation modeling: a Bayesian approach, 1st edn. Wiley, Chichester
Lindenmayer DB, Knight E, McBurney L et al (2010) Small mammals and retention islands: an experimental study of animal response to alternative logging practices. For Ecol Manag 260:2070–2078. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.FORECO.2010.08.047
Lunn DJ, Thomas A, Best N, Spiegelhalter D (2000) WinBUGS - A Bayesian modelling framework: concepts, structure, and extensibility. Stat Comput 10:325–337. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1008929526011
Macdonald SE, Landhäusser SM, Skousen J et al (2015a) Forest restoration following surface mining disturbance: challenges and solutions. New For 46:703–732. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11056-015-9506-4
Macdonald SE, Snively AEK, Fair JM, Landhäusser SM (2015b) Early trajectories of forest understory development on reclamation sites: influence of forest floor placement and a cover crop. Restor Ecol 23:698–706. https://doi.org/10.1111/rec.12217
Mackenzie DD, Naeth MA (2009) The role of the forest soil propagule bank in assisted natural recovery after oil sands mining. Restor Ecol 18:418–427. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1526-100X.2008.00500.x
Malaeb ZA, Summers JK, Pugesek BH (2000) Using structural equation modeling to investigate relationships among ecological variables. Environ Ecol Stat 7:93–111. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009662930292
Manninen OH, Stark S, Kytöviita M-M et al (2009) Understorey plant and soil responses to disturbance and increased nitrogen in boreal forests. J Veg Sci 20:311–322. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1654-1103.2009.05529.x
Marshall PL, Davis G, LeMay VM (2000) Using line intersect sampling for coarse woody debris. In: Forest Research Technical Report, TR-003. Research Section, Vancouver Forest Region, BCMOF
McCune B, Keon D (2002) Equations for potential annual direct incident radiation and heat load. J Veg Sci 13:603–606. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1654-1103.2002.tb02087.x
McGuire AD, Melillo JM, Joyce LA et al (1992) Interactions between carbon and nitrogen dynamics in estimating net primary productivity for potential vegetation in North America. Glob Biogeochem Cycles 6:101–124. https://doi.org/10.1029/92GB00219
McIntire EJB, Fajardo A (2014) Facilitation as a ubiquitous driver of biodiversity. New Phytol 201:403–416. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.12478
McKee KL, Rooth JE, Feller IC (2007) Mangrove recruitment after forest disturbance is facilitated by herbaceous species in the Caribbean. Ecol Appl 17:1678–1693. https://doi.org/10.1890/06-1614.1
Melnik K, Landhäusser SM, Devito K (2017) Role of microtopography in the expression of soil propagule banks on reclamation sites. Restor Ecol. https://doi.org/10.1111/rec.12587
Menge DNL, Levin SA, Hedin LO (2008) Evolutionary tradeoffs can select against nitrogen fixation and thereby maintain nitrogen limitation. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 105:1573–1578. https://doi.org/10.2307/25451324
Messier C, Coll L, Poitras-Larivière A et al (2009) Resource and non-resource root competition effects of grasses on early-versus late-successional trees. J Ecol 97:548–554. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2745.2009.01500.x
Midoko-Iponga D, Krug CB, Milton SJ (2005) Competition and herbivory influence growth and survival of shrubs on old fields: Implications for restoration of renosterveld shrubland. J Veg Sci 16:685–692. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1654-1103.2005.tb02411.x
Miller EM, Seastedt TR (2009) Impacts of woodchip amendments and soil nutrient availability on understory vegetation establishment following thinning of a ponderosa pine forest. For Ecol Manag 258:263–272. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.FORECO.2009.04.011
Näsholm T, Högberg P, Franklin O et al (2013) Are ectomycorrhizal fungi alleviating or aggravating nitrogen limitation of tree growth in boreal forests? New Phytol 198:214–221. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.12139
Natural Resources Canada (2008) Canada’s National Forest Inventory ground sampling guidelines: specifications for ongoing measurement. Canadian Forest Service, Pacific Forestry Centre, Victoria
Økland RH, Rydgren K, Økland T (2008) Species richness in boreal swamp forests of SE Norway: the role of surface microtopography. J Veg Sci 19:67–74. https://doi.org/10.3170/2007-8-18330
Omeja PA, Chapman CA, Obua J et al (2011) Intensive tree planting facilitates tropical forest biodiversity and biomass accumulation in Kibale National Park, Uganda. For Ecol Manag 261:703–709. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.FORECO.2010.11.029
Ostertag R, DiManno NM (2016) Detecting terrestrial nutrient limitation: a global meta-analysis of foliar nutrient concentrations after fertilization. Front Earth Sci 4:23. https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2016.00023
Parrotta JA, Turnbull JW, Jones N (1997) Catalyzing native forest regeneration on degraded tropical lands. For Ecol Manag 99:1–7. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0378-1127(97)00190-4
Pinno BD, Landhäusser SM, MacKenzie MD et al (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
Pinto JR, Marshall JD, Dumroese RK et al (2011) Establishment and growth of container seedlings for reforestation: a function of stocktype and edaphic conditions. For Ecol Manage 261:1876–1884. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.FORECO.2011.02.010
Pollack HN (2003) Uncertain science—uncertain world. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Pollard J, McKenna GT, Fair J et al (2012) Design aspects of two fen wetlands constructed for reclamation research in the Athabasca oil sands. In: Fourie AB, Tibbett M (eds) Mine closure 2012. Australian Centre for Geomechanics, Brisbane, pp 815–829
Price R (2014) 2013 Sandhill Fen soil sampling program. NorthWind Land Resources Inc., Edmonton
Pypker TG, Unsworth MH, Bond BJ (2006) The role of epiphytes in rainfall interception by forests in the Pacific Northwest. II. Field measurements at the branch and canopy scale. Can J For Res 36:819–832. https://doi.org/10.1139/x05-286
R Core Team (2015) R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria. http://www.R-project.org/
Reich PB, Tjoelker MG, Walters MB et al (1998) Close association of RGR, leaf and root morphology, seed mass and shade tolerance in seedlings of nine boreal tree species grown in high and low light. Funct Ecol 12:327–338. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2435.1998.00208.x
Salifu KF, Jacobs DF, Birge ZKD (2009) Nursery Nitrogen loading improves field performance of bareroot oak seedlings planted on abandoned mine lands. Restor Ecol 17:339–349. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1526-100X.2008.00373.x
Savage M, Mast JN (2005) How resilient are southwestern ponderosa pine forests after crown fires? Can J For Res 35:967–977. https://doi.org/10.1139/x05-028
Schott KM, Karst J, Landhäusser SM (2014) The role of microsite conditions in restoring trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx) from seed. Restor Ecol 22:292–295. https://doi.org/10.1111/rec.12082
Schott KM, Snively AEK, Landhäusser SM, Pinno BD (2016) Nutrient loaded seedlings reduce the need for field fertilization and vegetation management on boreal forest reclamation sites. New For 47:393–410. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11056-015-9522-4
Seo J-W, Eckstein D, Jalkanen R, Schmitt U (2011) Climatic control of intra- and inter-annual wood-formation dynamics of Scots pine in northern Finland. Environ Exp Bot 72:422–431. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.ENVEXPBOT.2011.01.003
Shugart HH, Leemans R, Bonan GB (1992) Introduction. In: Shugart HH, Leemans R, Bonan GB (eds) A systems analysis of the global boreal forest, 1st edn. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 1–8
Sigurdsson BD, Medhurst JL, Wallin G et al (2013) Growth of mature boreal Norway spruce was not affected by elevated [CO2] and/or air temperature unless nutrient availability was improved. Tree Physiol 33:1192–1205. https://doi.org/10.1093/treephys/tpt043
Singh JS, Milchunas DG, Lauenroth WK (1998) Soil water dynamics and vegetation patterns in a semiarid grassland. Plant Ecol 134:77–89. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009769620488
Soil Classification Working Group (1998) The Canadian system of soil classification, 3rd edn. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Publication 1646
Ste-Marie C, Houle D (2006) Forest floor gross and net nitrogen mineralization in three forest types in Quebec, Canada. Soil Biol Biochem 38:2135–2143. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2006.01.017
Stone EL (1953) Magnesium deficiency of some northeastern pines. Soil Sci Soc Am J 17:297–300. https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj1953.03615995001700030029x
Stone EL, Kszystyniak R (1977) Conservation of potassium in the Pinus resinosa ecosystem. Science 198:192–194. https://doi.org/10.2307/1744944
Stone EL, Leaf AL (1967) Potassium deficiency and response in young conifer forests in eastern North America. In: Forest Fertilization, Proceedings of the 5th Colloquium of the International Potash Institute. Jyväskilä, Finland, pp 219–229
Sturtz S, Ligges U, Gelman A (2005) R2WinBUGS: a package for running WinBUGS from R. J Stat Softw 12:1–16. https://doi.org/10.18637/jss.v012.i03
Tamm CO (1991) Nitrogen in terrestrial ecosystems, 1st edn. Springer, Berlin
Thiffault N, Jobidon R, Munson AD (2003) Performance and physiology of large containerized and bare-root spruce seedlings in relation to scarification and competition in Québec (Canada). Ann For Sci 60:645–655. https://doi.org/10.1051/forest:2003057
Turner MG (2010) Disturbance and landscape dynamics in a changing world. Ecology 91:2833–2849. https://doi.org/10.1890/10-0097.1
Turner MG, Romme WH, Gardner RH et al (1993) A revised concept of landscape equilibrium: disturbance and stability on scaled landscapes. Landsc Ecol 8:213–227. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00125352
Van Wagner CE (1982) Practical aspects of the line intersect method. Petawawa National Forestry Institute, Canadian Forest Service, Chalk River
Vieira ICG, Uhl C, Nepstad D (1994) The role of the shrub Cordia multispicata Cham. as a ‘succession facilitator’ in an abandoned pasture, Paragominas, Amazônia. Vegetatio 115:91–99. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf00044863
Weber B, Berkemeier T, Ruckteschler N et al (2016) Development and calibration of a novel sensor to quantify the water content of surface soils and biological soil crusts. Methods Ecol Evol 7:14–22. https://doi.org/10.1111/2041-210X.12459
Wytrykush C, Vitt DH, McKenna G, Vassov R (2012) Designing landscapes to support peatland development on soft tailings deposits: Syncrude Canada Ltd’s Sandhill Fen Research Watershed initiative. In: Vitt D, Bhatti J (eds) Restoration and reclamation of Boreal ecosystems—attaining sustainable development. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 161–178
Zettl J, Lee Barbour S, Huang M et al (2011) Influence of textural layering on field capacity of coarse soils. Can J Soil Sci 91:133–147. https://doi.org/10.4141/cjss09117
Zhao D, Borders B, Wang M, Kane M (2007) Modeling mortality of second-rotation loblolly pine plantations in the Piedmont/Upper Coastal Plain and Lower Coastal Plain of the southern United States. For Ecol Manag 252:132–143. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.FORECO.2007.06.030
Acknowledgements
We would like to acknowledge the funding support provided by the National Science and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), Syncrude Canada Ltd. and the Canadian Oil Sands Innovation Alliance (COSIA). We thank Carla Wytrykush and Jessica Piercey for their logistical support and all those who provided field support for this project over the years (Lynnette Allemand, Alexander Goeppel, Jessica Grenke, Ashley Hart, Elizabeth Hoffman, Robert Hetmanski, Caren Jones, Adam Kraft, Shaun Kulbaba, Angeline Letourneau, Mika Little-Devito, Michelle McCutcheon, Katharine Melnik, Sarah Thacker, and Alison Wilson). We also thank two anonymous reviewers for their comments on the manuscript.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Electronic supplementary material
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Merlin, M., Leishman, F., Errington, R.C. et al. Exploring drivers and dynamics of early boreal forest recovery of heavily disturbed mine sites: a case study from a reconstructed landscape. New Forests 50, 217–239 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11056-018-9649-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11056-018-9649-1