-
Transforming a Pine Plantation into Wildlife Paradise
yt.artemislena.eu Transforming a Pine Plantation into Wildlife Paradise (ep.1)Year two has officially begun on The Wildlife Homestead, and we're starting it by converting a pine plantation to a diverse, productive forest. If you'd like to support the channel and all of the projects: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKq3tXnvXnA0feJYmOx9MPw/join New to the channel? Checkout t...
-
Active closure of the Victor Diamond Mine, James Bay Lowlands, ON
YouTube Video
Click to view this content.
Pretty good restoration, given that closure construction just finished last year. They still have a ways to go before they can walk away, but the main things (pit filling, capping of dumps) have been completed, and there's no more yellow iron rumbling across the site to close things up.
-
Nature restoration law: EU Council gives final green light
This law aims to put measures in place to restore at least 20% of the EU’s land and sea areas by 2030, and all ecosystems in need of restoration by 2050.
It sets specific, legally binding targets and obligations for nature restoration in each of the listed ecosystems – from terrestrial to marine, freshwater and urban ecosystems.
-
Rapai et al. 2017. examining the role of terrestrial lichen transplants in restoring woodland caribou winter habitat
ABSTRACT The development of habitat restoration techniques for restoring critical woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) winter habitat will play an important role in meeting the management thresholds in woodland caribou recovery plans. The goal is to restore disturbed environments within critical winter habitat for the declining woodland caribou. Woodland caribou are diet specialists, utilizing lichen-rich habitat for forage during winter months. Cladonia sub-genus Cladina is the most frequently eaten species during this time. Herein, we provide: 1) A review of previously used methods for transplanting Cladonia sub-genus Cladina and their feasibility in restoring woodland caribou winter habitat; 2) A stepby- step protocol on how to carry out a terrestrial lichen transplant program (using Cladonia sub-genus Cladina and C. uncialis); and, 3) An evaluation of our protocol through the establishment of a case study in northern British Columbia. Our results indicate that transplanting C. sub-genus Cladina fragments is the most efficient technique for transplanting terrestrial lichen communities, but transplanting lichen ‘patches’ or ‘mats’ may also be effective.
-
Native Seed Network Takes Root in the Northeast
Cool article about seed banks. We really need to start creating and using them
-
Dam Removal on the Klamath River (January 2024 updates)
www.americanrivers.org Dam Removal on the Klamath River —“We are about to witness healing on a major scale. Dam removal is the best way to bring a river back to life. The Klamath is significant not only because it is the biggest dam removal and river restoration effort in history, but because it shows that we can right historic wrongs and make big, […]
American Rivers has some new (as of a month ago) videos of the Copco 1 and J.C. Boyle dams being breached. I'm really excited to see how the Klamath river responds to these dams being removed.
Copco 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEAuGu6zp-0&t=106s
J.C. Boyle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDD8lYV_GRQ
Also, someone made a post-breach video of the river with their drone: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIJcOaSBsOg
(Sorry for not including alternate Piped links. That site isn't working for me right now for some reason.)
- yt.artemislena.eu How beavers can fully revitalise a farm
At Mossy Earth, we're always exploring nature-based solutions for our rewilding projects. With numerous initiatives across Scotland, delving into the impact of beavers has piqued our curiosity. Join us as we uncover the incredible role these creatures play in restoring ecosystems and revitalizing la...
-
Why this is a pivotal moment for Hanford’s nuclear waste cleanup
www.seattletimes.com Hanford’s quest to turn nuclear waste into glass is at a pivotal momentThe largest nuclear industry melters in the world are ramping up in an effort to clean up Washington’s radioactive waste.
-
reforestation in the Sahara
YouTube Video
Click to view this content.
A good example of rough mounding benefits.
-
Reforestation efforts create cooling and buffering of temperature in SE United States
www.theguardian.com Very cool: trees stalling effects of global heating in eastern US, study findsVast reforestation a major reason for ‘warming hole’ across parts of US where temperatures have flatlined or cooled
- phys.org Apex predators not a quick fix for restoring ecosystems, 20-year study finds
A Colorado State University experiment spanning more than two decades has found that removal of apex predators from an ecosystem can create lasting changes that are not reversed after they return—at least, not for a very long time.
A 20-year experiment conducted by Colorado State University researchers in Yellowstone National Park found that restoring apex predators like wolves was not a quick fix for ecosystems degraded by their absence. While wolf reintroduction lowered elk populations, willows and aspens did not recover as strongly as expected even after carnivore numbers rebounded naturally. Constructing fences and dams showed the importance of reducing browsing and increasing water access independently. The study challenges the idea that easily reversing food webs can undo lasting ecological changes.
-
New gold rush flattens Johannesburg's famous mining dumps (2014 Article)
www.foxnews.com New gold rush flattens Johannesburg's famous mining dumpsA new gold rush is hitting Johannesburg, literally flattening the South African city whose Zulu name “Egoli” means City of Gold.
Good article that shows how mine dumps can be reclaimed to support human use (drive in) and how re-mining of wastes can be feasible in some cases
-
Alberta's oilsands reclamation bonding 'unfit for purpose,' researchers say
ca.finance.yahoo.com Alberta's oilsands cleanup piggy bank 'unfit for purpose,' researchers sayIn the oil-rich province, companies are required to return mine sites to their previous condition after projects are no longer in service.
cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/5492769
> > “The AER estimates over $45 billion in remediation and reclamation liabilities in the oilsands. This number may be a dramatic underestimate, with figures in leaked, official presentations suggesting as much as $130 billion in liabilities covered by less than $2 billion in security deposits,” University of Calgary School of Public Policy researchers Martin Olszynski, Andrew Leach, Drew Yewchuk wrote in a recent paper.
- www.rewildingmag.com “How I'm Restoring Native Bush to Boost Biodiversity – and Hope”
Silvia Pinca is removing invasive species and replanting native trees on her New Zealand land. Kiwi and other birds are already making themselves at home.
Silvia Pinca purchased 80 acres of land in New Zealand that was previously used as a pine plantation. She is working to rewild the land by removing invasive species like pines, pampas grass, and banana passionfruit and replanting native trees and shrubs. So far she has removed over 32,000 pines and planted hundreds of native seedlings. Native birds are starting to return to the land to help with seed dispersal. Her long term goal is to restore the native forest ecosystem and create a nature reserve.
-
Curran 2023 - Soil stockpile age does not impact vegetation establishment in a cold, arid natural gas field
slrpnk.net Curran et al. 2023 - Soil stockpile age does not impact vegetation establishment in a cold, arid natural gas field - SLRPNKThis topic is pretty hotly debated. One of the issues is that time is a huge factor in getting meaningful data, at least in a mining sphere, where stockpile are huge and soil is stored for a long time.
-
Pietrzykowski et al,. (2013) Preliminary assessment of growth and survival of green alder (Alnus viridis), a potential biological stabilizer on fly ash disposal sites
Abstract This paper presents preliminary assessment of seedling survival and growth of green alder (Alnus viridis (Chaix) DC. in Lam. & DC.) planted on fly ash disposal sites. This kind of post-industrial site is extremely hard to biologically stabilize without top-soiling. The experiment started with surface preparation using NPK start-up mineral fertilizer at 60–36–36 kg ha-1 followed by initial stabilization through hydro-seeding with biosolids (sewage sludge 4 Mg ha-1 dry mass) and a mixture of grasses (Dactylis glomerata L. and Lolium multiflorum Lam.) (200 kg ha-1). Subsequently, three-years-old green alder seedlings were planted in plots on two substrate variants: the control (directly on combustion waste) and plots with 3 dm3 lignite culm from a nearby mine introduced into the planting pit. Five years of preliminary monitoring show good survival seedling rates and growth parameters (height (h), average increase in height (Dh), number of shoots (Lo) and leaf nitrogen supply in the fly ash disposal habitat. Treatment of the site with a combination of lignite culm in planting pits and preliminary surface preparation by hydroseeding and mineral fertilization had the most positive effect on green alder seedling parameters. The result sindicate that it is possible and beneficial to use green alder for biological stabilization on fly ash disposal sites.
-
Mine Reclamation in Appalachia
www.livingcarbon.com The Case for Reforesting Abandoned Mineland with Andy Norris and Timothy PerezThe Appalachian Blue Ridge Forest system is the second most biodiverse forest system in North America outside of Mexico. The biodiversity of the Appalachian Forest is home to roughly 150 different tree species, covering 61,500 miles and twelve States in the US. However, mineral mining has drasticall...
-
Deforestation and reforestation rates around the world
www.visualcapitalist.com Mapped: 30 Years of Deforestation and Forest Growth, by CountryWhere are the world's forests still shrinking, and where are they seeing net gains? We map deforestation by country between 1990-2020.
-
EU lawmakers agree to restore 20% of the EUs land and sea ecosystems by 2030 and all in need of restoration by 2050
www.euractiv.com EU negotiators agree historic law to restore Europe’s natureNegotiators from EU countries and the European Parliament agreed on a landmark new law late on Thursday (9 November) to restore at least 20% of Europe’s land and sea areas by 2030 and all ecosystems in need of restoration by 2050.
-
Indonesia converts plantations to forest
www.ecowatch.com 200,000 Hectares of Oil Palm Plantations to Be Converted Into Forests, Indonesia's Government Says - EcoWatchIndonesia, the top producer and exporter of palm oil globally, said 494,210 acres of palm oil plantations will be replaced with forests.
- www.scientificamerican.com Depleted Groundwater Could Be Refilled by Borrowing a Trick from Solar Power
In many places around the world, groundwater is being pumped out faster than nature replenishes it. A new model points to a possible solution
- yt.artemislena.eu They're bringing back a lost species after 2000 years...
Donate to Celtics Fundraiser - https://gofund.me/a5a2ae65 Become a member of Leave Curious https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMrYUtfJiZHN3iJKqrd8UhQ/join Contribute directly to rewilding projects at Mossy Earth https://mossy.earth/?referral=LEAVECURIOUS Celtics channel - https://www.youtube.com/@...
-
In Pit Mine Waste Disposal as part of Reclamation and Closure
I saw an article the other day slamming the use of end pit lakes in mining. I think it's relatively easy to have a strong opinion an aspect of mining like this, and mining in general.
My personal opinion is that mining is primarily a necessary evil. It has vast capacity to royally fuck up a landscape for a very long time, but it also has the ability to provide us with metals and materials we need.
In this vein, I don't much care for mining of materials that don't support industrial uses or the green transition (e.g., diamonds). I also don't think mining is going anywhere soon. It's about as old as humanity, with some mines dating to 20,000 BCE.
My viewpoint aligns pretty well with the ICMM which aims to allow sustainable mining, through careful planning.
Anyway, My point is not to debate the merits or risks of mining.
I want to talk a bit about why pits are used for tailings and other mine wastes, and the engineering and planning that goes into them.
--- General === As we know, mining entails the removal of rock that contains minerals or metals of interest. In the case of metals, exploratory drilling will identify areas/veins of ore. The ore is a mix of local rock and the metal of interest. There are cut-off grades, where below a certain concentration, it's not feasible to mine, but I won't get into that. I'm going to primarily focus on metal mining, since that's my strength.
Anyway, since metals are contained with in the rock, the rock must be crushed and milled (e.g., leached with chemicals, and the solution precipitated to get condensate). Here's a really simplified diagram !
This process results in the condensate, and a by-product slurry called tailings, which comprises of extra chemicals, water, and the crushed rock. In addition, to get to the ore rock, waste rock (ore rock below cut-off grade) is cast to the side as spoil in huge stockpiles millions of tons in size.
Geochemistry === The issue, however, is that sulphur or other metals often occur with the ore rock. For instance, it's common for a copper mine to also produce gold or molybdenum, or for zinc mines to produce lead as well.
If the ore rock is high in sulphur (commonly in the form of pyrite), when it is exposed to air it weathers to produce sulphuric acid, which rapidly lowers pH in the immediate vicinity, and can really cause a pile of trouble with water. Tailings, since they're just crushed ore rock, and the waste rock that was moved out of the way to get to the ore are common sources of potentially acid generating (PAG). Not all rock is acid generating (called NAG - non-acid generating). Further, metals can leach from rock on their own, but it's more common with the lower pHs associated with PAG. !
So really, the issue is exposing rock that was once in anoxic conditions to oxygen. That's where a lot of the problems start.
Water === Another thing to note (briefly) is that any water that hits the mine disturbance footprint is considered 'contact water' and generally must be managed, treated, and released, regardless of its water quality values (e.g., it could be below environmental guidelines, but since we can't easily distinguish, and water quality can change rapidly, we blanket treat everything).
So how do we put a bunch of material on the surface in anoxic conditions? === Well, we have this pit, right over here, where we just dug it out of... and we have a bunch of water that we'd have to treat, which is expensive...
I bet you can see where this is going.
Pit Lakes === To deal with contact water and to prevent metal-leaching/acid rock drainage (collectively; ML/ARD), companies deposit tailings, waste rock, or other ML/ARD material into the pit and cover it with water.
A lot of thinking goes into this. Geological and Hydrogeological studies are conducted, to determine contact water will make its way into the ground water.
Water balance models are created, under several different climate scenarios and projections on the pit lake water elevation (level) are given to mine closure planners and regulators.Water balance modelling aims to ensure that the wastes stay covered no matter what.
Water quality modeling is also conducted, as sometimes specific contaminants can be bioremeidated, or remeidated in the pit itself using chemicals to improve water quality and mitigate risk.
further, human health risk assessments (HHERAs) and environmental risk assessments (ERAs) are a key component for successful mine closures.
What about tailings ponds? === Another way to manage tailings is though a tailings pond (Tailings Storage Facilities - TSFs). These are designed to prevent ML/ARD issues during operations. during active closure and reclamation, they are dewatered (usually though evaporation or other water mgt. means) capped with an impermeable layer (to reduce oxygen infiltration through gas exchange or dissolved oxygen in water) and revegetated.
Some tailings are really fine, and really wet, so they pose very large post-closure geotechincal issues for the TSF. There's a lot of research going on around dry-stacking or paste-stacking tailings. This is essentially changing the milling process to create tailings that are more geotechnically stable, and then capping them with a similar impermable layer and placing coversoil on them and revegating them.
Why are you telling me all this? === The point that I'm trying to make is that there's a lot of thinking that goes into the lifecycle of most mines, particularly in the developed world. Developing world mining and artisinal mining can be abhorent. However, if careful planning is done, then things are less hairy.
- www.nature.com More than carbon sticks - Nature Water
The concept that planting trees will help mitigate climate change by storing CO2 is too simplistic, ignoring the large effect that plants have on the water cycle. Careful restoration of native plant ecosystems can rebalance that cycle, further mitigating climate change while also reducing flood and ...
-
Biosolids used to reclaim SI landfill
lemmy.world Former Staten Island landfill will feature public park with soil replenished by human feces - Lemmy.WorldA portion of the former Fresh Kills landfill in Staten Island has been turned into parkland and the soil will be replenished by composted human feces flushed from a solar-powered restroom. Mayor Eric Adams heralded the dung-filled development during a groundbreaking ceremony at the former home of th...
-
Designing Reclamation Trials
First, sorry this community has been kind of dead. I've been pretty preoccupied with work, and blowing of steam shitposting memes
------ One thing we often encounter in reclamation, if you're a consultant, is clients wanting research done to confirm their methods are feasible and will work when it comes to close a site. As such, they often want to look at all the things, and get the most data for the cheapest price. This leads them to wanting to have a bunch of treatments, often using a factorial design (i.e. split-split plots), where you'll have 20 plot (for example) and each plot has 2 or more treatments within it.
The problem with this is that by nature, you're limited to a low number of reps, since adding one extra rep can significantly impact the amount of money spent on analysis. The thing, though, is that reps serve to smooth out highly variable data (like soil!), and by having a bunch of treatments all smushed together, you get a lot of confoundment going on in your data sets. Further, even when you're militant about controlling variability, you essentially answer many questions poorly and end up needing to do more research to answer them all. You get a 'well kinda' answer.
Alternatively, if you design your experiment in stages, you can better answer questions, and can have the flexibility to adjust in between experimental phases.
For instance, say I want to look at the effect of two subsoil decompaction methods, two amendments, and two planting prescriptions. You could design this easily with a factorial approach, and get data all at once.
Alternatively, if you look at one of each type of treatment (e.g., 1 decompaction method, 1 soil amendment) and 2 planting prescriptions with more reps, you'll have stronger statistical power, and be able to answer questions better. It's more defensible. It's usable data. The kind that gets you another budget to find out the other half of the experiment. In round 2 you look at the other configuration.
Ex//
Round 1 Decompact A x Amend A x plant A Decompact A x Amend A x plant B Decompact A x Amend B X Plant A Decompact A x Amend B x Plant B
Round 2 Decompact B x Amend B x plant A Decompact B x Amend B x plant B Decompact B x Amend A X Plant A Decompact B x Amend A x Plant B
In a factorial, you'd have something like:
Decompact A x Amend A (half plot) X Amend B (half plot) X Plant A (half Plot) x Plant (B) (half Plot) in this case, there's generally too much spatial overlap/noise.
While this approach is a little more expensive in the long run, it's generally cheaper in the short term, and more palatable to clients, particularly when you get solid answers rather than non-answers.
This applies to all field trials, not just Reclamation. Simple experimental designs are elegant. Think of it as a field of vision. If you use a factorial you have a broad field but narrow depth. More elegant approaches? More depth less field. Each has their merits, but reserve factorials for occasions where you aren't sure what is important or aren't trying to prove something
E: some minor spelling mistakes that my phone didn't catch. tweaked design to include overlapping treatments my 11 pm brain didn't catch. Principles remain the same.
-
Howell 2017 - using bioavailable nutrients to assess topsoil type and depth in reclamation
ABSTRACT
Land reclamation following surface mining in the Athabasca oils sands region will be extensive, with various challenges specific to local reclamation cover soils. The high economic costs associated with pre-disturbance soil salvage and placement in reclamation necessitates judicious management and application of salvaged cover soils. Soil microbial community activity and bioavailable nutrient supply are largely overlooked in reclamation analyses despite their potential in providing a sensitive measurement of ecosystem function. This study evaluates these parameters by comparing two continuous cover soils, a coarse-textured forest floor mineral mix (FFM) and an organic matter-rich peat soil (PM) at Syncrude Canada's Aurora Soil Capping Study. Shallow (10 cm) and Deep (20–30 cm) placement depths of FFM and PM were compared to a control receiving no cover soil and a harvested jack pine site as a reference. Soil function was assessed by measuring bioavailable nutrient supply rates, soil respiration, phospholipid fatty acid analysis (PLFA), and community level physiological profiles (CLPP). Non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMS) was used to quantify functional similarity with reference conditions. NMS revealed the greatest similarity between FFM and the reference site for bioavailable nutrient supply, PLFA, and CLPP. Deep FFM application shared greatest PLFA similarity to the reference site, while Shallow FFM was more similar in CLPP. Shallow PM was more similar to reference conditions than Deep for all parameters measured, suggesting that shallow cover soil applications might be sufficient for the reclamation target. Soil respiration rates were greatest in FFM, followed by the reference site and PM treatments, with no difference attributable to placement depth. PM had greater nitrogen and sulfur availability, but was lower in phosphorus and potassium when compared to FFM and the reference site. Ecosystem function was more similar in cover soils that mimicked the reference site conditions as much as possible, which in this case meant shallow placement and material salvaged from upland forests
-
Regenerating conifers on rough mounded waste rock
This reclamation is 10 years old and no soil was placed - these are going directly into waste rock. This is high elevation, so the trees grow slowly
- yt.artemislena.eu We Built Fake Beaver Dams to Rewild this Dead River
Earlier this year we introduced you to Glassie, our riparian restoration project in Scotland. In this video, we're constructing our fake beavers to really kickstart regeneration of this river. 🌾 To support our work you can become a member here: https://mossy.earth MOSSY EARTH MEMBERSHIP =========...
- www.theguardian.com Diverse mix of seedlings helps tropical forests regrow better, study finds
Experiment in Malaysia shows quicker recovery compared with areas replanted with four or just a single native species
Replanting logged tropical forests with a diverse mixture of seedlings can help them regrow more quickly than allowing trees to regenerate naturally, a study has shown.
After trees were felled in the 1980s, the publicly owned Malua Forest Reserve was dedicated to learning how best to restore tropical forests.
Prof Andrew Hector, of the University of Oxford, who set up the experiment more than 20 years ago as part of the South East Asia Rainforest Research Partnership, said: "Our new study demonstrates that replanting logged tropical forests with diverse mixtures of native tree species achieves multiple wins, accelerating the restoration of tree cover, biodiversity, and important ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration."
The researchers, who published their findings in the journal Science Advances, said that the probable reason for the better recovery was that different tree species occupied distinct niches within the forest ecosystem and so diverse mixtures of planted species complemented each other and increased the effective functioning of the whole ecosystem.
Some tropical species were more tolerant of drought because they produced more protective chemicals, giving the forest resilience during periods of low rainfall.
Hector added: "Having diversity in a tropical forest can be likened to an insurance effect, similar to having a financial strategy of diverse investment portfolios."
Tropical forests cover 6% of the planet's land surface but are home to about 80% of the world's documented species and are major carbon sinks.
- www.newcastle.edu.au Delprat Cottage landscape remediation project lands prestigious Good Design Award
In recognition for outstanding design and innovation, the Delprat Cottage and Gardens has been awarded a Good Design Award Gold Winner Accolade in the Architectural Design category at the 2023 Australian Good Design Awards.
cross-posted from: https://aussie.zone/post/2107025
> In recognition for outstanding design and innovation, the Delprat Cottage and Gardens has been awarded a Good Design Award Gold Winner Accolade in the Architectural Design category at the 2023 Australian Good Design Awards. > > The Good Design Awards Jury commented: "This project finds an innovative, research-based solution to removing toxic soil and monitoring passive environmental approaches. The Jury commends the design team for this outstanding project that will no doubt drive innovation and future research into this area. Well done." > > The Australian Good Design Awards is the country's oldest and most prestigious international awards for design and innovation with a proud history dating back to 1958. > > "Some of the Award-winning projects from this year's Good Design Awards are truly ground-breaking. There are so many inspiring impact-led projects this year that have embraced the power of design as a problem-solving tool - their design stories deserve to be recognised and celebrated at the highest level. We are proud to continue the legacy of celebrating design, and designers making a positive impact on our world. The Good Design Awards showcase what true design excellence looks like, to inspire others to greatness - that's exactly what these Awards are about." > > Projects recognised with an Australian Good Design Award demonstrate excellence in professional design and highlight the impact a design-led approach has on business success and social and environmental outcomes.
-
While I'm a bit skeptical of the anti-Eucalyptus crusade in California, there are certainly situations where the trees need to be thinned or removed, and this seemed an interesting technique for those who wish to avoid herbicides. I wonder if it could be done with an edible species to provide an edible harvest as well.
-
Rafting the most polluted river in Australia (copper mine)
YouTube Video
Click to view this content.
"Deep within a midlife adventure crisis, I find myself in Tasmania, about to descend a sickly orange, biologically dead river the locals call pumpkin soup. Seeking out places that aren't always the prettiest, wildest or biggest, the Queen river, after 100 years of runoff from a mine, is considered the most polluted river in Australia.
For two days I had a hard time reconciling between the tremendous damage humanity is capable of, and how that same energy and desire must be used to fix this very big problem. That, and the fact there were times on the river, deep within the wonders of Tasmania’s landscape, I had to remind myself I was floating on water that can’t support life."
-
Abstract Topsoil stockpiled for 4 years resulted in an accumulation of NH4-N at depths of 1m or more in mound, as measured by an ammonia gas-sensing electrode. When leached with water these soils were also found to contain high concentrations of dissolved organic C below lm. Both NH4-N and DOC were products of microbial mineralisation of soil organic matter that accumulated under anaerobic conditions. When these soils were restored a flush of decomposition took place, fuelled by labile organic matter and soluble nitrogen. Stockpiled soil which underwent an ammonium-rich perfusion regime in the laboratory indicated that in-mound soils rapidly attained greater nitrification potential than surface mound soils and also had greater potential for further mineralisation of organic matter to NH4-N. This further production was seen as a contribution from the bacterial flush, stimulated by the large labile-C pool already present. As the bulk of stored soil was anaerobic, restored soils were seen as potentially wasteful of their N-reserves; the fate of nitrogen and soluble carbon compounds in restored soils is discussed.
-
2020 - Cowan - Artificial refuges to combat habitat loss for an endangered marsupial predators
Abstract One technique used to combat the growing global species extinction crisis has been to create artificial refuges—human-made replacements for natural refuges destroyed during habitat modification. However, there is limited knowledge of how closely artificial refuges replicate the natural refuges they seek to replace. Mining threatens many species worldwide through large-scale habitat modification, and artificial refuges have been proposed as a method to offset the resulting habitat loss. Here, we examined the microclimatic, physical, and biotic characteristics of natural dens occupied by the northern quoll (Dasyurus hallucatus)—an endangered marsupial threatened by habitat loss—and compared these to (a) superficially similar unoccupied crevices, and (b) artificial dens created by mining companies for northern quolls. Northern quolls occupied natural dens that were cooler and deeper than unoccupied crevices, likely to avoid lethal air temperatures as well as predators. Artificial dens provided similar thermal properties to occupied dens, but lacked key characteristics in having shallower den cavities, less complex surrounding habitat, increased feral cat visitation, and less small mammal prey compared to occupied dens. This study highlights the need to consider multiple facets when constructing artificial refuges, in order to avoid perverse outcomes, such as inadequate shelter, increased predation, and food shortages.
-
Patterson et al. 2018 - Effects of stockpiling on selected properties of opencast coal mine soils
ABSTRACT Soil stockpiling is a necessary component of opencast coal mining and, because most of the soils involved have arable potential, this involves the possibility of serious soil degradation. A study at four mines on the Highveld of South Africa involved sampling a number of stockpiles of various ages and origins. Samples were also collected from unmined adjacent soils, as well as rehabilitated areas. Results of stockpiling showed a deterioration in all physical and chemical parameters studied. The soil profile texture gradient was disturbed, due to mixing of surface and subsurface materials. Stockpile bulk density rose by 4% from unmined soils and by a further 6% in rehabilitated areas, indicating continuing compaction problems. Cation exchange capacity values did not entirely correspond with the textural changes, suggesting increased leaching, whereas pH values decreased for many stockpiles, requiring post-mining liming to re-establish suitable environments. Organic carbon levels on stockpiles fell by 5%,
and by a further 35% to rehabilitated areas. Increasing age of stockpile did not seem to equate to a correspond- ing increase in degradation, except possibly for pH, which showed a weak correlation. Recommendations from
the study include the use of ‘cut and cover’ rehabilitation techniques; continuous soil specialist consultation, and limitations on stockpile height and duration.___
-
One year ago we flooded a forest - a video update from Mossy Earth
YouTube Video
Click to view this content.
This rewinding group puts out videos on their progress