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ABSTRACT |
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TITLE: |
Natural Regeneration on a Pipeline
Right-of-Way in the Boreal |
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AUTHOR(S): |
Mark Ealey
- Mark_ealey@golder.com John Virgl |
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Following pipeline construction activities,
rights-of-way (ROW) that traverse previously undisturbed landscape units are typically
seeded as part of the final reclamation program. Argronomic
species are often used in these seed mixtures but there is growing awareness
that these species may alter or influence the ecological integrity of the
landscape unit disturbed by pipeline construction. We conducted a study on a
pipeline ROW to assess the influence agronomic species have on natural
secondary succession. The study was also completed to evaluate if there are
any ecological impacts or benefits derived from not seeding the disturbance
corridor at the end of a reclamation program and if there is significant
differences in plant recovery among the three primary work lanes within a
pipeline construction ROW. Results from the study indicated there was a
significant variation in species richness between seeded and non-seeded
areas, indicating that agronomic species pre-empt the reestablishment of a
desired endemic community. However, there was not a significant variation
between work lanes within the ROW, indicating that typical construction
associated with each lane did not influence plant establishment and
regeneration. Keywords: Agronomic species, revegetation, species richness,
succession, ecological integrity, vegetation management, species diversity |
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