Sudbury s Abandonend Roast Yards: Toxicity Hotspots Valuable Living Laboratories For The Study Of Ecosystem Recovery

Transcription

1 Sudbury s Abandonend Roast Yards: Toxicity Hotspots Valuable Living Laboratories For The Study Of Ecosystem Recovery Peter Nosko Biology Department Peter Nosko - Sudbury

2 O Donnell Roast Yard (Inco Ltd. Archives) Peter Nosko - Sudbury

3 Roast yard timeline Open roasting Mining and smelting Peter Nosko - Sudbury

4 Coniston Roast Yard Peter Nosko - Sudbury

5 Coniston Roast Yard Peter Nosko - Sudbury

6 O Donnell Roast Yard Peter Nosko - Sudbury

7 O Donnell Roast Yard Peter Nosko - Sudbury

8 Evidence for recovery of terrestrial ecosystems Peter Nosko - Sudbury

9 Evidence for recovery of terrestrial ecosystems Peter Nosko - Sudbury

10 Study areas Falconbridge Transect O Donnell Roast Yard Coniston Roast Yard Peter Nosko - Sudbury

11 Coniston Roast Yard Peter Nosko - Sudbury

12 Coniston Roast Yard Peter Nosko - Sudbury

13 Ordination soil chemistry variables Coniston Roast Bed Axis 1 (36%) Axis 1 (36%) Soil ph Soil Ni Axis 2 (23%) Axis 2 (23%) Peter Nosko - Sudbury

14 ph Coniston Roast Bed ph Distribution A B C D E F G H I J Peter Nosko - Sudbury

15 Median and range of ph values for soils associated with the root zone of various graminoid species on the Coniston and O Donnell roast beds compared to adjacent (unvegetated) soils. Species Roast Yard Root Soil ph Adjacent Soil ph Median Range Median Range Agrostis gigantea Coniston O Donnell Agrostis scabra O Donnell Deschampsia caespitosa Coniston O Donnell Hordeum jubatum Coniston Carex scoparia Coniston O Donnell n.d Peter Nosko - Sudbury

16 Soil metals (RF) Mean (mg g -1 ) Coniston Roast Bed (n = 200) O Donnell Roast Bed (n = 275) Transect 1.5 km (n = 40) Transect 6.5 km (n = 40) Transect 20.5 km (n = 40) As Cu Mn Ni Pb Zn Peter Nosko - Sudbury

17 Environmental ordination community variables - Coniston Axis 1 (36%) Axis 1 (36%) Species Richness Species Evenness Axis 2 (23%) Axis 2 (23%) Peter Nosko - Sudbury

18 Deschampsia caespitosa Coniston Newfoundland Cobalt Goat Island (Roastbed) (Serpentine) (Silver Mine) (Coal Spoils) Peter Nosko - Sudbury

19 Deschampsia antarctica Peter Nosko - Sudbury

20 Deschampsia caespitosa - Ni uptake Ni Conc (μg g -1 ) Coniston Roastbed O'Donnell Roastbed NL Serpentine 400 Ni Conc (μg g -1 ) Soil Root Shoot Coniston Roastbed O'Donnell Roastbed NL Serpentine BCF TF Peter Nosko - Sudbury

21 Root structure metal uptake Agrostis gigantea Deschampsia caespitosa

22 Median soil ph - Agrostis scabra ph=3.81 (Soil adj ) ph=3.89 (Soil root ) ph=3.88 (Soil adj ) ph=3.92 (Soil root ) ph=4.16 (Soil adj ) ph=4.13 (Soil root ) O DONNELL ROAST YARD TRANSECT 1.5 km TRANSECT 3.0 km Peter Nosko - Sudbury

23 Nickel (μg/g) - Agrostis scabra 270 (+ 40) 84 (+ 11) 42 (+ 3) BCF (+ 123) BCF (+ 94) BCF (+ 37) 2123 (+ 381) 2095 (+ 328) 450 (+ 139) 416 (+ 102) 352 (+ 66) 226 (+ 61) O DONNELL ROAST YARD TRANSECT 1.5 km TRANSECT 3.0 km Peter Nosko - Sudbury

24 Arsenic (μg/g) - Agrostis scabra 1.94 (+ 0.45) 9.92 (+ 0.91) 2.91 (+ 0.44) BCF (+ 0.41) BCF ( ) BCF (+ 16.4) 4.41 (+ 0.96) 3.64 (+ 0.77) (+ 80.6) (+ 68.3) 84.2 (+ 18.4) 55.0 (+ 13.3) O DONNELL ROAST YARD TRANSECT 1.5 km TRANSECT 3.0 km Peter Nosko - Sudbury

25 Vascular species O Donnell Roast Bed Hogan et al (1977) Hutchinson & Symington (1997) This study (2007) Agrostis gigantea Agrostis scabra Carex scoparia Deschampsia caespitosa Deschampsia flexuosa Juncus sp. Phragmatis australis Epilobium angustifolium Hieracium aurantiarum Sonchus arvensis Kalmia angustifolia Ledum groenlandicum Vaccinium angustifolium Betula papyrifera Picea glauca Pinus banksiana Pinus resinosa Populus balsamifera Populus tremuloides Peter Nosko - Sudbury

26 Vascular species Coniston Roast Bed Equisetum sp. Agropyron repens Agrostis gigantea Agrostis scabra Carex scoparia Deschampsia caespitosa Hordeum jubatum Anaphalis margaritace Aster paniculatus Atriplex patula Cirsium vulgare Crepis tectorum Epilobium angustifolium Epilobium glandulosum Euthamia graminifolia Hieracium aurantiacum Hieracium piloselloides Polygonum erectum Solidago Canadensis Solidago uliginosa Sonchus arvensis Spiranthes diluvialis Kalmia angustifolia Ledum groenlandicum Salix humulis Salix lucida Salix petiolaris Betula papyrifera Picea glauca Populus balsamifera Populus tremuloides Sirois et al [1979] Turcotte 1981 This study [2007] Peter Nosko - Sudbury

27 Comparing number of vascular species No. of vascular species Plant group Coniston Roast Bed O Donnell Roast Bed Transect 1.5 km Transect 6.5 km Transect 20.5 km Ferns & allies Graminoids Forbs Shrubs Trees Vascular Species Peter Nosko - Sudbury

28 Nucleated succession Peter Nosko - Sudbury

29 Nucleated succession Peter Nosko - Sudbury

30 Nucleated succession Peter Nosko - Sudbury

31 Value of Roast Yards Peter Nosko - Sudbury

32 Keith Winterhalder Peter Nosko - Sudbury