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Biocrust propagation on mine tailings and overburden substrates and transplantation design for mine reclamation

British Columbia Mine Reclamation Symposium; University of British Columbia. Norman B. Keevil Institute of Mining Engineering

The biological soil crust (biocrust) is the community of mosses, lichens, algae, and cyanobacteria that live at the uppermost soil layer. Biocrust protects substrates from erosive forces, aids in nutrient cycling, and retains water. The applied research project began with the question if we can propagate biocrust on mining substrates in a greenhouse and transplant them? The project component includes experimental greenhouse propagation of biocrust on mine tailings and overburden substrates, experiment fertilizer application rates and shade on moss propagation, to create a field transplantation design and procedures. I used the perception-scale and image analysis (MATLAB method) tool to estimate biocrust cover during biweekly monitoring. I used a gas analyzer to document the CO2 dynamics of the experimental trays. The results revealed the establishment and propagation of the mosses on all substrate types. The mine tailings had a higher mean cover than the overburden substrates for the Gibraltar moss. The experiment could not confirm the establishment of lichens on any mining substrates. One Gibraltar moss replicate on a control substrate had the highest cover with more than 80% based on a perception-based scale and it was 77.9% based on the MATLAB method. An ANOVA revealed that there was a statistically significant difference in mean cover based on substrate type (F(2, 36) = [29.306], p = 2.97e-08). The analysis of variance showed that there is no significant difference in the biocrust cover (F(2, 36) = [2.588], p = 0.089) based on propagule type. However, the visual observation revealed the establishment of mosses was better than lichens. The trays for second experiment with fertilizer amendment dried out due to heatwaves and did not resurrect, but trays under shade had few active mosses. The gas analyzer data shows a positive assimilation rate, which implies that the biocrust trays are contributing to photosynthesis. Taseko|Gibraltar mine transplanted experimental trays in the field condition following the transplantation design.

Conference Paper

eng

Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library

10.14288/1.0421797

Non UBC

Other

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