Innovation Anthology #254:
The plant research of Ann Smreciu is helping oil sands companies like Syncrude restore forest landscapes destroyed by mining.
As Smreciu knows only too well, there’s more to replanting a forest ecosystem than sticking a few seedlings in the ground.
Timing, temperature and proper mixes of soil all affect whether a plant survives or dies. So part of her research is geared towards taking the guesswork out of revegetation for the oil sands area.
ANN SMRECIU: Ultimately I would really like to see functioning forest ecosystems up in that area. We’re putting together what we’re calling propagation and establishment profiles for each of the species we’re working with. So as we get the information we put together a profile for that species and those will be handed over to everyone involved in trying to reclaim a site. So from the nurseries trying to grow these plants to the operations people who actually have go out and harvest the seeds and put them in the ground. And they will have that information to go on so that they don’t have to start looking from scratch each time they want to look at a different species.
Ann Smreciu’s work with Alberta’s native species shows that once established, they will take dominance over weeds.
Thanks today to Syncrude Canada
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I’M CHERYL CROUCHER
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Program Date: 2009-09-01