Mine operators are required to restore disturbed land to a defined condition upon mine closure, a process known as reclamation. To establish guidelines and protocols for successful ecosystem reclamation following mine closure, research is needed to establish reliable tools to monitor and measure ecosystem reclamation. This project considers the entire ecosystem, targeting soil development and microbial function, plant traits and function, vegetation productivity and diversity, food webs and habitat structure.
This research will:
This project will develop innovative methods and tools to guide mine site reclamation planning, implementation and management. This will lead to increased effectiveness, lower costs and social acceptance of mine activities.
Ongoing developments in mine reclamation science is an investment in the long-term health of the land-base that our economy and communities depend on.
Numerous mine site around BC such as New Afton Mine, Highland Valley Copper Mine, Mt Polley Mine and others.
The researchers will use tent-like structures called ‘malaise traps’ to capture flying insects and pitfall traps to capture small ground insects in an ethanol solution to preserve the specimens for DNA analysis.
At a genomics lab, the collected insects will be identified by comparing their unique DNA barcode to existing records on the Barcode of Life Database (BOLD: www.boldsystems.org). Soil and vegetation samples will also be collected to better understand the whole ecosystem.