Base de données de recherche des TNO

Régions: North Slave Region, South Slave Region

étiquettes: mining, environmental impact, biology, bioaccumulation, ecological indicators, vegetation, carbon budget, forestry, industrial development, resource management, ecological change, aquatic invertebrates, boreal forests, conservation plan, ecological sustainability

Objectif(s): Although the boreal forest takes more than 13% of the earth's total surface, there is only little known about the structure, function, load capacity and regenerative power of this unique ecosystem which is endangered by variable man made environmental impacts like deforestry on mining industry. Therefore fundamental scientific research is necessary for conserving undisturbed boreal woodland and conveying the process of ecological sustainability in boreal forest handling and management. Great scientific research demand seems to concern mostly sensitive northern boreal forests close to the treeline border like the forests in the vicinity of Great Slave Lake, where lumber industry does not play an important role. Furthermore environmental impact research is often restricted to plant and animal species of direct economic value. This project intends to contribute to the understanding of the northern boreal forests reaction to mine operation by determining the changing of (ground) vegetation patterns and selected aquatic invertebrate communities due to changing ecofactors.

Description du projet: The research team plans examine the areas around Pine Point and Yellowknife (Lac de Gras). This will be accessed by car (Pine Point) and by float plane (Lac de Gras). Equipment ot be used is common, unobtrusive ecological field equipment like pH meter, oxygen electrode, thermometer, field photometer, mechanical tree growth drillar 0.5mm, plant press, field microscope, field GPS, laptop computer, rubber dinghy and some net for catching the aquatic insects. Samples will be taken in variable numbers; eg 100-200 soil samples, 100-200 water samples (100 ml samples), about 200 leaf samples of Picea mariana, Pinus banksiana, Belula papyrifera, Empertrum nigrum, Cornus canadeasis, 50-100 tree cores of Picea mariana, samples for post-determination of variable species of lichens and the aquatic megafauna, larvae of dragonflies, stone flies, caddies flies and mayflies, water fleas or planarians. Project will contribute to the conservation of the boreal forest and lead to possible development of general models to explain environmental impact in boreal forests by mine operation.