Regions: North Slave Region
Tags: environmental assessment, biology, mining impacts, land reclamation, native plants, revegetation, vegetation, plant productivity, wetlands, plant ecology, diamond mining
| Principal Investigator: | Witteman, John (1) |
| Licence Number: | 12860 |
| Organization: | BHP Diamonds Inc. |
| Licensed Year(s): |
1996
1995
|
| Issued: | Jun 06, 1996 |
| Project Team: | J. Kidd (ABR Inc.) and other personnel from ABR Inc. and BHP Diamonds Inc. |
Objective(s): The objectives of the 1996 season are: - to monitor and evaluate vegetation response of five plant cultivation treatments using three topdressing sources (objectives of the 1995 season). - to assess wetland creation in a former minewater settling pond - to investigate the use of "pocket planting" and tundra plugs as part of the revegetation of waste rock piles.
Project Description: As part of overall reclamation goals of BHP, the 1996 season will focus on three components. Vegetation response will be assessed in August using the point-frame method. Within the legume, indigenous seed and shrub cutting plots, plant density will be recorded. Soil samples in replicates of three will be collected from each treatment to analyze physical and chemical characteristics. Secondly, the Wetland Creation Study will principally involve transplanting sprigs of Arctophila fulva (Arctic Pendant Grass) along the margin of the proposed pond. The reasons for this study are to determine whether creating wetland habitat is feasible and what factors most influence the successful establishment of wetland vegetation and the rates of spreading after transplant. Third, the waste rock revegetation studies will be continued. The aim is to develop techniques for revegetating waste rock stockpiles for future application. Approximately 75-100 plots will be established on the stockpile.
