Revegetation: Species Selection – an Initial Report

This monograph is the first formal public report of the Syncrude revegetation program. The revegetation program itself is part of a long term (up to 30 years) effort directed towards reclaiming and rehabilitating the disturbed land areas. The goal is to return these land areas to a state inhabitable by the plant and animal organisms that were originally present, or by organisms similar to these. For this reason the revegetation program has been designed to use native species as far as possible. This monograph reports the selection of native and naturalized species suitable for use in revegetation of disturbed sites in the Athabasca Tar Sands Area. The criteria used for the selection of species to be studied included climatic adaptability, root system, growth habit, soil type adaptability, disease resistance and competitive ability. Information useful in the initial selection of species was gathered from a general survey of the plant communities in the area and from a survey of naturally and artificially disturbed sites in the Athabasca Tar Sands Area. Growth chamber tests using twenty-five species of grasses and legumes were used to compare the early development of these species• on five different soil types, including tailing sand. These tests also showed the importance, in selection, of ecotypic differences within a species. For species to be used in revegetation, methods for economical production and handling of seed must be established.