North Shore is extremely proud of our outstanding team members and their achievements. Earlier this year, Shauna Stack and members of the Landhäusser Research Group published a paper in the journal of Ecological Engineering titled “Surface and subsurface material selections influence the early outcomes of boreal upland forest restoration”.
The paper discussed the findings of a five-year study that assessed early tree seedling growth on a reclaimed overburden landform in a northern Alberta open-pit mine. This large-scale study covered 36 hectares of land and consisted of 13 different reconstructed soil profiles. The overall findings from this study indicated that different soil capping strategies affect the performance of forest regeneration during post-mining site reconstruction and boreal forest species may vary in responses according to their ecological life strategies. The abstract can be viewed and the electronic version of the paper can be purchased using the link below:
The follow-up study focused on the effect of nutrient availability in the cover soils of this site and the use of a targeted fertilizer application to improve tree growth was recently accepted for publication, stay tuned for more details!
Shauna is a Junior Environmental Scientist based out of our Sherwood Park office. Her duties include technical report writing and data management for Phase 1 Environmental Site Assessments (ESAs), Phase 2 ESAs, and Detailed Site Assessments, in addition to assisting with statistical applications for contaminant projects and potential GIS work in the coming months. Shauna has five years in academic research, ranging from remote sensing applications in secondary forests, hydrological monitoring of mountain watersheds, and reclamation of open-pit mines in central and northern Alberta. For more information regarding this study, feel free to contact Shauna via sstack@northshoreenv.com.
