| After mining exploitation of the Athabasca Oil Sands deposits, the disturbed land has to be reclaimed to equivalent land capability. The overall objective of this research was to assess how different reclamation practices affect soil organic matter (SOM) quality as compared to undisturbed forest soils of the region. Samples (0-10 cm) were taken from a total of 47 natural and reconstructed soils. Subsequently, SOM pools were isolated and characterised using a combination of acid hydrolysis, size and density fractionation, 13C Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, and cupric oxide (CuO) oxidation. Differences between natural and reconstructed soils were observed with NMR, whereas only phenolic yields differed among soil types for CuO variables. Variation among soils reflected the influence of botanical inputs (peat vs. forest litter) to SOM composition. Some SOM were also significantly related to time since reconstruction, hence could serve to monitor SOM formation in these soils. |
