Boreal peatland restoration through partial removal of an oil and gas well pad (Online)

Presenter:  Murdoch McKinnon, University of Waterloo,

Date/Time: April 17, 2024.   2pm – 3pm UTC-4 (Eastern) / 12pm – 1pm Mountain

We present the results of a four-year post-restoration assessment undertaken following the partial removal of a well pad near Slave Lake, Alberta. Specifically, we sought to assess whether partial removal resulted in a sufficiently wet residual mineral substrate for the establishment of peatland vegetation either introduced as donors or naturally revegetated from nearby sources. Our results demonstrate that groundwater connectivity with the adjacent peatland maintained near-saturated soil moisture conditions across just under half of the pad. This resulted in biogeochemical conditions similar to those observed in the adjacent rich fen. However, limited groundwater connectivity within the interior of the pad resulted in a reliance on snowmelt and early-season rainfall to maintain high soil moisture levels away from pad edges. In these drier interior patches, water availability to mosses typically became limiting by mid-summer. As such, potential modifications to the technique with the potential to improve surface and groundwater connectivity will be discussed.

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