Price's research looks broadly at the hydrology of wetland systems, with particular focus on peatland and fenland systems, considering both management and restoration perspectives.
'We can't replace nature': Oilsands wetland reclamation a mixed success
By Bob Weber, The Canadian Press, Sept. 12, 2016
Faced with reclaiming open-pit mines that were once thriving wetlands, Suncor and Syncrude have been trying to do what’s never been done — rebuilding one of the most complex, diverse and delicate ecosystems in the boreal forest.
Three years into the ground-breaking, high-profile projects, early successes are emerging.
Suncor’s Nikanotee fen and Syncrude’s Sandhills fen are staying wet year-round. They’re growing some typical fen plants. Even better, they’ve begun to store carbon in their peaty depths.
“(That’s) one of the core functions of a fen ecosystem, so that’s really great,” said Joshua Martin, Suncor’s wetland reclamation director.
But the overall plant mix isn’t what it was. Soil and water chemistry has changed. Biodiversity has shrunk.
The fens don’t seem to be developing into what was there before and nobody really knows how they will evolve.
We can’t kid ourselves,” said Jonathan Price of the University of Waterloo, one of the main experts behind Nikanotee. “We can’t replace nature.
Fen recovery is so uncertain and expensive that one researcher suggests resources would be better used elsewhere. [...]