EXPRESS PIPELINE CASE STUDY Jane Lancaster · PDF fileProject Reclamation Objectives ... Slender Wheatgrass - Northern Wheatgrass - Pasture Sage1, 1, 1, 1, 2, 3 Common Knotweed - Pasture

Kestrel Research Inc. & Gramineae Services Ltd. in association with Alberta Sustainable Resource Development

Long-term Recovery Of Native Prairie

From Industry Disturbance

• Jane Lancaster

• Marilyn Neville

• Laura Hickman

• Barry Adams

EXPRESS PIPELINE

CASE STUDY


Acknowledgements

• Mike Droppo

• Varge Craig

• Ken Baker

• Kevin France

• Tenille Kupsch

• Laura Hickman

• Jennifer Richman

• Gerry Ehlert

• Matt Veikle

• Ross Adams

• Kinder Morgan

operators

Setting – Alberta Grassland

Natural Subregion



Project Reclamation Objectives

• Establish a positive successional

trend towards plant communities

present before construction

• Erosion control


Minimal Disturbance Construction

Techniques

• Blade width stripping

– Soils stored on unstripped grass

– Traffic drives on the grass

• Double blade width stripping

– Soils stored on unstripped grass

– Ditch and travel lane stripped

Topsoils Stripped

and Replaced



Revegetation Strategies

for Stripped Native Prairie Grassland

Native Seed Mixes

–Mixedgrass

–Dry Mixedgrass – Solonetzic

–Dry Mixedgrass - Sandy


Reclamation Trials

Rough Fescue Sod Salvage

– Northern Fescue

– Mixedgrass

Unseeded Natural Recovery

– Mixedgrass

– Dry Mixedgrass - Solonetzic

- Sandy

What is the process of plant community

succession following industrial disturbance?



Key Questions - Long Term Monitoring

How are reclamation treatments

responding over the long-term?

What is the health of the reclaiming

grassland?

Is natural succession towards a native

plant community occurring?


Use of Recognized Range Inventory Methods

• Microplot sampling for

cover and composition at

63 sites

• Paired comparisons of

controls and disturbance

communities

• Detailed photographs

• Time series data from

years 1, 2, 3, 5, and 14

after disturbance


Data Collection Tools – GVI Mapping

• Provides

mapping of

ecological

range sites

• Data

grouped by

ecological

range site


Data Collection Tool - Range

Plant Community Guides

• Plant community guides link

ecological range site type to

reference and successional

plant communities

• Analysis of our data identified

successional plant

communities on disturbed

topsoils linked to range site.


Data Collection Tools – Range Health

Includes measures of:

• ecological status,

• plant community structure,

• litter,

• site stability,

• soil exposure

• presence of noxious weeds


Results Summary after 14 Years

• Performance trends of seed mixes

• Range health of recovering grassland

• Recovery and succession of;

• Seeded topsoils

• Unseeded topsoils (Natural Recovery)

• Sod salvage trials

Mixedgrass Seed Mix - Express

Streambank wheatgrass 16.3%/wgt

Northern wheatgrass 6.5%/wgt

Western wheatgrass 9.3%/wgt

Slender wheatgrass Rev 5.9%/wgt

Slender wheatgrass Adan 7.9%/wgt

Green needle grass 10.4%/wgt

Indian rice grass 9.7%/wgt

June grass 2.2%/wgt wild harvest

Plains rough fescue 7.3%/wgt wild harvest

Rough fescue 24.6%/wgt wild harvest


.


Trajectory of Mixedgrass Seed Mix over Time

- Desirable Cultivars

Mixedgrass Seed Mix - Successful use of

Wild Harvested Seed


Trajectory of Mixedgrass Seed Mix over Time -

Undesirable Cultivars



Seeded Cultivars Still Prominent

Dry Mixedgrass Solonetzic Seed Mix

Western wheatgrass 7.8 %/wgt

Slender wheatgrass Rev 5.4 %/wgt

Slender wheatgrass Adan 7.1 %/wgt

Streambank wheatgrass 16.7 %/wgt

Northern wheatgrass 6.5 %/wgt

Green needlegrass (MB) 9.9 %/wgt

Green needlegrass (AB) 10.7 %/wgt

Sheep fescue 13.1 %/wgt

June grass Prairie Seeds 6.5 %/wgt

Alkali bluegrass 16.1 %/wgt


.

Dry Mixedgrass Solonetzic Seed Mix



Range Health after 14 Years Recovery

• Groundcover structural

layer missing

• Bare soils still more

prevalent on the

disturbed topsoils

• Health scores on

disturbed topsoils lower

than on controls

• Ecological function increasing over time on

disturbed topsoils


Is Succession Occurring?

• Statistical analysis methods

–Cluster Analysis

–Non-metric Multi-dimensional Scaling

(NMS) Ordination

– Indicator species analysis

Definitions for Seral Stages on Disturbed Topsoils

Seral Stage Plant Community Description

Pioneer Site dominated by annual weeds, a cover crop or first year seeded colonizing grasses such as

slender wheatgrass.

Early seral Site dominated by disturbance forbs such as pasture sagewort and other species such as low

sedge. Seeded species and colonizing grasses such as spear grasses also establishing.

Mid-seral Cover of grasses greater than that of disturbance forbs such as the sageworts; decreaser

grasses present as a small component of the cover.

Late Seral -

native

Cover of long-lived grass species expanding; native species cover from the seed bank

established; slower establishing infill species present; decreaser grasses dominant; no more

than one structural layer missing.

Late Seral -

cultivars

Cover of long-lived grass species expanding; seeded cultivars clearly still dominant; slower

establishing species such as fescues present; decreaser grasses dominant; no more than one

structural layer missing.

Reference Community closely resembles the potential natural community for the ecological site described

in the Range Plant Community Guides under light disturbance.

Trending to

Modified *

A primarily native plant community where non-native species are increasing over time and

occupying > 5% of the total live cover.

Modified > 70% cover of non-native species.


Succession on Reclaiming Communities

Mixedgrass Loamy Soils – Seeded

Seral StageReclaiming Plant Community

(6 seeded sites, 20 obs)

Years since

Topsoil

Disturbance

Early Seral Pasture Sagewort - June Grass - Wild Vetch1, 2, 2, 2, 3,

3, 5

Northern Wheatgrass - Western Wheatgrass

– Needle-and-Thread3, 5, 14, 14

Kentucky Bluegrass - Low Sedge - Pasture

Sagewort5

Late Mid-

seral

Western Porcupine Grass - Northern

Wheatgrass - Wild Vetch5

Late SeralPlains Rough Fescue - Northern Wheatgrass -

Pasture Sagewort

1, 2, 3, 14,

14, 14, 14

Mid-seral


Mixedgrass Loamy Soils – Seeded – Year 14

Succession on Dry Mixedgrass Sandy

Soils – Natural Recovery

Seral

Stage

Reclaiming Plant Community

(6 natural recovery sites, 26 obs)

Years since

Topsoil

Disturbance

Pioneer Prairie Rose - Lamb’s Quarters - Prairie Sagewort 1, 1, 2

Early

Seral

Tansy Mustard - Western Porcupine Grass -

Pasture Sagewort3, 3

Mid-

seralBuckbrush / Sun-Loving Sedge - Pasture Sagewort 14

Western Porcupine Grass - Pasture Sagewort -

Sand Grass

2, 2, 3, 3, 5,

5, 5, 5, 5, 5

Needle-and-Thread - Pasture Sagewort - Kentucky

Bluegrass2, 14, 14, 14

Needle-and-Thread - Blunt Sedge - Sand Grass2, 2, 3, 3, 14,

14

Late

Seral


Dry Mixedgrass Sandy Soil – Natural Recovery

Natural recovery unsuccessful on

loamy mixedgrass soils

• Few

colonizers

present

• Soils exposed

• Vulnerable to

invasion by

non-natives


Succession on Dry Mixedgrass

Solonetzic Soils

Seeded (6 sites, 28 obs)

Unseeded (5 sites, 20 obs)

Slender Wheatgrass - Northern Wheatgrass - Pasture Sage 1, 1, 1, 1, 2, 3

Common Knotweed - Pasture Sage - Slender Wheatgrass 1 5

Nuttall’s Atriplex / Knotweed sp. - Pasture Sage 1, 2

Summer Cypress - Lamb’s quarters - Slender Wheatgrass 2, 3

Pasture Sage - Needle-and-Thread Grass 2, 2, 2, 3, 142, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3,

3, 5, 5, 5, 5, 14

Pasture Sage - Needle-and-Thread Grass - June Grass 2, 14

Mid-seral Northern Wheatgrass - Pasture Sage-Western Wheatgrass 3, 5

Late Mid-

seralNeedle-and-Thread Grass - Pasture Sage - Northern Wheatgrass 1, 5

Western Porcupine Grass - Western Wheatgrass - Pasture Sage 3, 5, 14

Western Wheatgrass - Pasture Sage 5 14, 14, 14

Sheep Fescue - Northern Wheatgrass – Pasture Sage /Moss &

Lichens2, 5, 14

Sheep Fescue - Pasture Sage - Northern Wheatgrass 3, 5, 14

Pioneer

Early Seral

Late Seral

Trend to

Modified

Seral

StageReclaiming Plant Community

Yrs since Topsoil Disturbance


Dry Mixedgrass – Seeded Solonetz– Yr 14

Rough Fescue Sod Salvage Trial

• Labour intensive

• Requires a site

free of invasive

non-native species

• Re-contouring

challenging

• Changes to

drainage can

occur


Rough Fescue Sod Salvage Unsuccessful

• Bunch grasses like

rough fescue

decreased cover

• Rhizomatous

species expanded

cover over 14

years

• Kentucky bluegrass

established in sods


0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Pe

rce

nt

Co

ver

Limy Soil - Control

Limy Soil - Sod

Loamy Soil - Control

Loamy Soil - Sod


Learning from Long term Monitoring

Native Seed Mixes

• Seeded slender wheatgrass is

disappearing as planned

• Many sites still characterized

by late seral seeded cultivars

• Careful selection of locally

collected cultivars or wild

harvested seed may improve

potential for restoration


Learning from Long term Monitoring

Natural Recovery

• Native plant

communities established

on all the natural

recovery sites in the

Dry Mixedgrass

• 78% of the natural

recovery sites support

late seral communities

in the Dry Mixedgrass,

Reclamation Risk

Assessment

• Is the ecological range site adapted to

disturbance?

• Are invasive species present that will affect

whether natural recovery or sod salvage is

possible?



Project Outcomes • Increase understanding

of the process of plant

community succession

on disturbed topsoils

• Link range assessment

tools to the assessment

of reclamation response

• Provide guidance to

industry on appropriate

revegetation strategies

to promote restoration.


Project Sponsors ASRD Public Lands Division

Kinder Morgan Canada

Trans-Canada PipeLines

ConocoPhillips Canada

Report Location

http://www.foothillsrestorationforum.com/express

-pipeline-revegetation/

EXPRESS PIPELINE CASE STUDY Jane Lancaster · PDF fileProject Reclamation Objectives ... Slender Wheatgrass - Northern Wheatgrass - Pasture Sage1, 1, 1, 1, 2, 3 Common Knotweed - Pasture

Documents