A review of the outcomes of a pilot wellsite reclamation monitoring program in the Dry Mixedgrass Natural Subregion. It informs on sampling effort in native grasslands, and identifies criteria for selection of a subset of wellsites for inclusion in a potential long-term monitoring program. This report supports the development of a framework for the inclusion of long-term monitoring of Alberta's reclaimed wellsites.
The piloting of the long-term monitoring protocols in the Dry Mixedgrass natural subregion field study (ABMI 2014) provided significant learnings; improvements in technology and use of trained reclamation field crews contributed to significant increases in efficiencies throughout the field season. Analysis of variability among vegetation and soil indicators illustrated high variability both within and between wellsite and reference locations within and among sites. However, the statistical design of our study with paired locations of wellsite and reference locations within individual sites provided the statistical power to detect treatment differences. The statistical design of our study also allowed us to detect differences with a smaller number of sample sites than we would need if we did not use blocking in our design. Our statistical design and the hands on learning experience we gained in the field can be applied when implementing the long-term monitoring program for certified wellsites in native grasslands, thus ensuring efficient and cost effective wellsite monitoring in the future.
Overall, our findings from the activities in this project year provided novel insights into the sampling and assessment of recovery of wellsites post-certification in native grasslands in the Dry Mixedgrass natural subregion. These findings will aid in the development of an integrated, scientifically robust and financially sustainable monitoring program to enable the assessment of ecological recovery of physical, chemical, and biological indicators at certified reclaimed wellsites across Alberta.