Effects of Landscape Age and Salinity on Plant Community Composition and Productivity in Opportunistic and Constructed Wetlands in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region, Alberta

Mombourquette, Ashlee Dawn

Effects of Landscape Age and Salinity on Plant Community Composition and Productivity in Opportunistic and Constructed Wetlands in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region, Alberta

dc.contributor.advisor	Ciborowski, Jan
dc.contributor.advisor	Chasmer, Laura
dc.contributor.author	Mombourquette, Ashlee Dawn
dc.contributor.committeemember	Hornung, Jon
dc.contributor.committeemember	Vamosi, Jana
dc.contributor.committeemember	Galpern, Paul
dc.date	2023-11
dc.date.accessioned	2023-08-29T16:26:29Z
dc.date.available	2023-08-29T16:26:29Z
dc.date.issued	2023-08
dc.description.abstract	Wetlands comprise 65% of the Athabasca Oil Sands Region (AOSR) surface mineable area and thus support diverse flora (approximately 400 species in Alberta). Due to increased anthropogenic land disturbance activities such as bitumen extraction, reclamation of surface mineable areas will also increase. The resulting reclaimed areas will tend to be sodium-enriched compared to pre-disturbance landscapes. In this thesis, forty young (<40 years old) stratified-randomly selected wetlands were sampled on reclaimed landscapes at Syncrude’s Mildred Lake lease and from reference wetlands in adjacent areas in the AOSR to determine how salinity and age influence the vegetation community composition, and the biomass of six dominant wetland plant species (Carex aquatilis, Calamagrostis canadensis, Carex atherodes, Carex utriculata, Schoenoplectus tabernaemontani, and Typha latifolia) found on reclaimed and reference landscapes. Wetland vegetation communities on reclaimed landscapes differed from those on reference landscapes; however, landscape type had no impact on the biomass of the dominant plant species. Vegetation communities varied along a salinity gradient; species richness was negatively associated with salinity, and vegetative species abundance (percent cover) was lowest in freshwater wetlands and highest in moderately brackish wetlands. Species richness did not differ among wetland classes. However, vegetative species abundance was significantly different among age classes. The biomass produced by each dominant species did not vary with respect to a gradient of salinity or among wetlands of different age classes. These findings may provide a useful frame of reference against which to compare vegetation communities that may be observed in wetlands forming on reclaimed landscapes.
dc.identifier.citation	Mombourquette, A. D. (2023). Effects of landscape age and salinity on plant community composition and productivity in opportunistic and constructed wetlands in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region, Alberta (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.
dc.identifier.uri	https://hdl.handle.net/1880/116912
dc.identifier.uri	https://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/41754
dc.language.iso	en
dc.publisher.faculty	Graduate Studies
dc.publisher.institution	University of Calgary
dc.rights	University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.
dc.subject	vegetation community composition
dc.subject	vegetation biomass
dc.subject	wetland
dc.subject	oil sands
dc.subject	reclamation
dc.subject.classification	Ecology
dc.title	Effects of Landscape Age and Salinity on Plant Community Composition and Productivity in Opportunistic and Constructed Wetlands in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region, Alberta
dc.type	master thesis
thesis.degree.discipline	Biological Sciences
thesis.degree.grantor	University of Calgary
thesis.degree.name	Master of Science (MSc)
ucalgary.thesis.accesssetbystudent	I require a thesis withhold – I need to delay the release of my thesis due to a patent application, and other reasons outlined in the link above. I have/will need to submit a thesis withhold application.