RENR 440 Term Paper Outline

Group 4
October 20/17
Title: Effects of Natural Resource Development Upon the Watersheds of Northern Alberta
Objective: The goal of this paper is to explore and determine the effects of natural resource extraction upon
Northern Albertan watersheds. In order to do this, we will be exploring four critical ecological aspects of these
watersheds which could be impacted. These four facets are water quality, vegetation, erosion, and
wildlife/aquatic diversity.

Outline:
Introduction
General introduction of the amount of area in Northern Alberta directed effected by streams or wetland areas,
the resource developments that we will be focusing on (Forestry, mining, and oil/gas development primarily), as
well as implications if the current levels of disturbance are maintained. We will also present the level to which
these disturbances have been studied recently, as well as what is being planned for future management and risk
assessment for future disturbance events. Want to follow a cause, effect, and response structure.

Body
Topic 1: Water Quality (Cause)
Forestry/Road Effects (Richardson, 2008 and Webster et al., 2014)
● Alteration of forest composition (planting of conifers in non-native range) can have a significant impact
upon pH and the presence of ions within groundwater flows
● Possible impact of insecticides or herbicides leaching into watersheds
● Harvest could introduce large amounts of nutrients into watersheds as a result of reduced uptake by
plants previously present and general soil disturbance. Ex. N, P, K
● Water temperature and mercury (Webster et al., 2014)
Shale oil and gas development, and Oil Sands Production/Mining (Brittingham et al., 2014, Wang et al., 2017,
Jordaan, 2012, Kelly et al., 2009, Kelly et al., 2010, and Webster et al., 2014)
● Potentially harmful in the Duvernay prospective area.. Eg. Little Smoky area, Hydraulic fracturing,
Mention the earthquakes in 2016 (Wang et al., 2017) related to hydraulic fracturing wells
● Sediment run-off potentially from drilling well pads, as well as increases in stream turbidity as related to
well densities
● Possible mobilization of large amounts of trace metals from Earth’s crust as a bi-product of the
fracturing. Cu, Cd, Pb, Se, and Zn possible. Oil sands operations have released thirteen toxic elements
downstream of development, Canadian guidelines were exceeded for seven elements including Cd, Cu,
Pb, Ni, Ag, Zn (Kelly et al, 2010)
● Holding ponds used in oil and gas activities could also have these high levels.. Risky when more
earthquakes could be leading to possible containment breaches and accidental spills are possible, or
leaching if these waste products are not properly contained within deep containment wells, produced
waters typically have very high levels of total dissolved solids, salts, metals, and naturally occurring
radioactive materials, in situ development… well encasement breaches leading to mixing of saline and
freshwater in aquifers (Webster et al, 2014)
● Elevated levels of polycyclic aromatic compounds found downstream of oil sands development (Kelly et
al, 2009) → toxic for fish embryos. Possibility of Naphathenic acid process water contamination
(Webster et al., 2014). Mining (seepages, acid drainage) (Webster et al., 2014)

Topic 2: Soil and Erosion (Effects and Response)

North America Soil Degradation: Processes, Practices, and Mitigating Strategies (R.L. Baumhardt et al., 2015)
● Degradation can be centred around loss of soil organic matter (SOM)
● Although this paper is focused on agricultural practices the data can be extrapolated to apply to other
resource exploration issues (soil compaction and forestry), (changes in pH, heavy metals and
salinization affecting nutrient uptake and availability in area around oil exploration)
Oil Sand activity impacts on vegetation communities and soil-plant contamination (C. Boutin and D. J. Carpenter.
2017)
● Several heavy metals found throughout study site, no obvious impact on veg, though sensitive species
may have been reduced (though cannot support this)
 ● Presence of PAHs in many of the sample sites

Topic 3: Vegetation
Elbow River Watershed - impact of future land use changes ( Wijesekara et al. 2012)
● Simulations based on population growth, historic land uses, and other external factors indicate a
decrease in tree species as well as an increase in land use for urbanization including agriculture,
range/parklands etc.
● Contributes to deforestation of a significant portion of the extent of the watershed.
● These massively impact hydrologic processes in the watershed, including infiltration (due to runoff),
baseflow and overflow.
Aquatic ecosystem response to deforestation and other disturbances in North America ( Carignan et al. 2000)
● Some human caused disturbances included in this study: forestry, wildfire suppression, agriculture
● Vegetation disturbances due to the atmospheric transport of contaminants from these processes
● Vegetation is very important for aquatic biota and water quality - the alteration of the hydrological
cycles are driven by forest disturbance - and therefore the impacts of vegetation are very important to
watershed quality and well-being.
● Greenhouse gases are also very important factors in the impact of vegetation and consequently
watersheds.
● Removal of vegetation is shown to cause increases in stream temperature that last for up to 15 years.
● Loss of vegetation due to harvesting also allows additional stresses to the environment due to wind.
Impact on riparian vegetation from clearcutting in Ontario (Lamb et al. 2003)
● This study shows that riparian vegetation is NOT significantly affected by upland forest disturbance or
removal of adjacent forest canopy etc. -- what is more important are the factors that help structure this
vegetation ex. Edge effects
● Healthy riparian vegetation is important for ecological function in aquatic ecosystems
● Contribute leaf litter and woody debris
● Impact on vegetation due to anthropogenic disturbance is a significant concern because of how
important riparian vegetation is on aquatic ecosystem health
● Impact of clearcutting near streams
● Overall, riparian vegetation is resilient in the face of disturbance
● Studies in boreal forest - so potential for this study to extend its results to Albertan watersheds

Topic 4: Wildlife/Aquatic Diversity

Impacts and prognosis of natural resource development on aquatic biodiversity in Canada’s boreal zone
(Kreutzweiser et al. 2013)
● Mining and forestry pose the biggest threat to aquatic biodiversity from contamination of the water, and
changing the structure of the watershed as well as the composition.
● The technology surrounding forestry is improving however and is showing that these practices are
starting to have shorter term and not as serious effects
● Mining impacts are much more severe, with many chances for toxic substances to make their way into
the watershed, this can hopefully be managed by increasing standards relating to effluent emissions and
more environmentally friendly mining practices

The relationships between resource exploration and wildlife have many complex and complicated points. Many
of these relationships are detrimental to wildlife biodiversity in the area. Some of these relationships include:
● Wildlife and Seismic Lines (Dyer et al. 2002)
● Birds and Tailings ponds (Timoney et al 2010)

Conclusion
● Restate the objective of this paper
● Indicate that lack of monitoring and knowledge surrounding the current effect of natural resource
extraction upon our Northern watersheds is unacceptable, and should be addressed immediately
● Briefly discuss the cumulative impacts of disturbances on these four factors
● How can we change development methods enough that will uphold the quality and health of our aquatic
ecosystems while working for all stakeholders in these regions?
 ● Acknowledging the impact and ecosystem services that these ecological regions provide is critical for
encouraging rapid response
Literature Cited:

Baumhardt, R. L., B. A. Stewart and U. M. Sainju. North American Soil Degradation: Processes, Practices and
Mitigating Strategies Sustainability (2015) 7(3), 2936-2960. DOI: 10.3390/su7032936

Boutlin, C. and Carpenter, D. J. 2017. Assessment of wetland/upland vegetation communities and evaluation of
soil-plant contamination by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and trace metals in regions near oil sands
mining in Alberta. Science of the Total Environment. (2017), 576, Supplement C, 829-839

Brittingham, M., Maloney, K., Farag, A., Harper, D., & Bowen, Z. 2014. Ecological Risks of Shale Oil
and Gas Development to Wildlife, Aquatic Resources and their Habitats. Environmental Science &
Technology 48 (19): 11034-11047 (2014). DOI: 10.1021/es5020482

Carignan, Richard, and Robert J. Steedman. 2000. Impacts of major watershed perturbations on aquatic
ecosystems. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 57.S2 (2000): 1-4.

Dyer, S., O’Neill, J., Wasel, S., Boutin, S. 2002. Quantifying barrier effects of roads and seismic lines on
movements of female woodland caribou in northeastern Alberta. NRC Research Press. 80: 839–845.
2002. DOI: 10.1139/Z02-060

Jordaan, S. M. 2012. Land and Water Impacts of Oil Sands Production in Alberta . Environmental
Science & Technology 46: 3611−3617 (2012). DOI: 10.1021/es203682m

Kelly, E., Short, J., Schindler, D., Hodson, P., Ma, M., Kwan, A., and Fortin, B. 2009. Oil sands
development contributes polycyclic aromatic compounds to the Athabasca River and its
tributaries. PNAS 106 (52): 22346-22351. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0912050106

Kelly, E., Schindler, D., Hodson, P., Short, J., Radmanovich, R., and Nielsen, C. 2010. Oil sands
development contributes elements toxic at low concentrations to the Athabasca River and its tributaries .
PNAS 107 (37): 16178-16183. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1008754107

Kreutzweiser, D., Beall, F., Webster, K., Thompson, D., Creed, I. 2013. Impacts and prognosis of natural
resource development on aquatic biodiversity in Canada’s boreal zone1. NRC Research Press. 21: 227-
259. DOI: 10.1139/er-2013-0044

Lamb, Eric G., Azim U. Mallik, and Robert W. Mackereth. "The early impact of adjacent clearcutting and forest
fire on riparian zone vegetation in northwestern Ontario." Forest Ecology and Management 177.1
(2003): 529-538.

Richardson, J. S. 2008. Aquatic arthropods and forestry: effects of large-scale land use on aquatic
systems in Nearctic temperate regions. Canadian Journal of Entomology 140: 495–509 (2008)

Timoney, K., Ronconi R., 2010. Annual Bird Mortality in the Bitumen Tailings Ponds in Northeastern Alberta,
Canada. The Wilson Journal of Ornithology 122(2010):569-576. DOI: 10.1676/09-181.1

Wang, R., Gu, Y., Schultz, R., Zhang, M., & Kim, A. 2017. Source characteristics and geological
implications of the January 2016 induced earthquake swarm near Crooked Lake, Alberta. Geophysical
Journal International 210 (2): 979-988 (2017). DOI: 10.1093/gji/ggx204

Webster, K., Beall, F., Creed, I., & Kreutzweiser, D. 2014. Impacts and prognosis of natural resource
development on water and wetlands in Canada’s boreal zone . Environmental Review 23: 78-131 (2015).
DOI: 10.1139/er-2014-0063
Wijesekara, G. N., et al. "Assessing the impact of future land-use changes on hydrological processes in the
Elbow River watershed in southern Alberta, Canada." Journal of hydrology 412 (2012): 220-232.