Vegetation recovery at 30 year old oil and gas drilling sumps in the Mackenzie River Delta, NWT.
Principal Investigator: Wunderlich, Nicole B (1)
Licence Number: 14369
Organization: University of Saskatchewan
Licensed Year(s): 2008
Issued: Jul 03, 2008
Project Team: Eric Pedersen (Research Assistant, University of Saskatchewan), T.B.A. (Guide, Aurora Research Institute or other organization)

Objective(s): The objective of this study is to determine if the plant community composition of seeded and unseeded disturbances in the Mackenzie Delta is similar to the undisturbed tundra.

Project Description: The objective of this study is to determine if the plant community composition of seeded and unseeded disturbances in the Mackenzie Delta is similar to the undisturbed tundra. This comparison may help determine best practices of recovery for native vegetation to use in future oil and gas projects in the region. The vegetation data will be collected using non-destructive methods including species presence/absence, canopy height, dominant vegetation cover and leaf area index. Minor destructive sampling will be used to obtain plant vouchers (one individual of each species per site) for identification purposes, and soil samples (~10 x 5cm diameter cores per site). A boat will be used for transportation to the general research area. After the research has been completed a summary of the field work will be submitted to the Aurora Research Institute. In addition, a copy of the thesis report will be submitted after its completion. The project will use the assistance of a guide with local knowledge of the area and skills in boat navigation. Fieldwork will be conducted from July 03 to August 31, 2008, in Titalik K-26, Unipkat I-22, Toapolock O-54, Kikoralok N-46, Kumak C-58, Niglingtak B-19, Kumak E-58, Titalik O-15, Taglu D-43, Taglu H-54, Taglu C-42, Kumak E-58, Parsons P-53, Kamik D-58, Parsons P-53, Kumak K-16, Atigi G-04, Toapolok H-24. The camp sites will be located in convenient locations near the field research sites. The main logistics base will be Inuvik (Aurora Research Institute).