Application of Habitat Suitability Index (HSI) models without testing in areas other than where they were generated, and claims that habitat preferences have been proven, indicate that managers and scientists believe that habitat preferences of wildlife are fixed. We tested this hypothesis by comparing habitat preferences of 2 groups of moose (Alces alces) in northeastern Alberta, Canada, to which the same habitat classes were available but differed in relative abundance. We estimated habitat availability for each of 22 radiomarked, adult female moose and divided the animals into 2 groups based on the similarity of relative habitat class abundances. We measured habitat preference for individual moose from each group during 2 seasons in each of 2 years using a simple resource selection function (RSF). We used analysis of variance (ANOVA) to compare differences between groups. Preference of several habitat classes differed between groups, indicating that habitat preferences of moose are not fixed and change as the relative abundance of available habitat changes. Managers must recognize and account for this concept in the application of habitat prescriptions or management plans. JOURNAL OF WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT 68(3):576-584

Wetlands are found extensively throughout the Western Boreal Plain, a region under pressure because of disturbance by the oil and gas industries. To understand how wetland systems may respond to disturbance and set targets for reclamation efforts, it is necessary to understand natural variability in nutrient dynamics in the landscape. The purpose of this study was to characterize spatial variability in peatland nutrient (nitrogen, N, and phosphorus, P) dynamics in the Athabasca Oil Sands (AOS) region. N and P availability and net mineralization rates in the upper 10 cm layer of peat were examined during the peak growing season in five peatlands that fell along an apparent moisture gradient. N and P dynamics within and among the sites were related to water table position, peat moisture content and temperature. Phosphorus supply rates and total inorganic N pools and supply rates were generally elevated under wetter conditions, whereas nitrate (NO 3 À ) pools and supply rates and P pools did not vary along a moisture gradient. In general, net immobilization was observed at the wetter sites where nutrient pools were elevated and net mineralization was observed at drier sites where nutrient pools were lower. Nutrient transformation rates were most strongly driven by warmer temperatures. Nutrient availability and immobilization rates were anomalously high at one peatland (a disturbed fen with a semi-permanent road and decommissioned well pads). We suggest that reclamation and management practices should focus on regulating peatland hydrologic conditions, optimizing these for the most desirable nutrient levels for vegetation growth.

Peatlands of the Western Boreal Plains are under stress from oil and gas development and associated infrastructure such as road construction and removal. An improved understanding of nutrient cycling and atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) exchange interactions in peatlands can assist in recommending best management practices to industry to minimize the ecohydrological disturbance footprint of road features. Peat nutrient (nitrogen, N, and phosphorus, P) supply, net mineralization, groundwater concentrations, and peatland-atmosphere CO 2 exchange rates were quantified within a poor fen bisected by a semi-permanent road located in the Athabasca Oil Sands region of Alberta, Canada, over one growing season. Results demonstrate that the road impeded groundwater movement across the site; however, water table and moisture differences were minimal, likely due to the unusually wet season. No clear impacts of the road on nutrient dynamics were observed, but subtle differences in productivity and respiration resulted in significantly lower net CO 2 sequestration (net ecosystem exchange) on the down-flow side of the road.Differences in vegetation composition between sides of the road were apparent and likely indicate longer-term moisture differences at the site. Elevated rates of productivity and respiration coincided with a seasonal change in the relative supplies of N and P (increased N : P ratios), suggesting that the relative availability of N versus P may be important to CO 2 fluxes in Western Boreal Plains peatlands. Collectively, these findings demonstrate the need to capture interactions between hydrology, ecology and nutrient biogeochemistry when evaluating peatland carbon cycling response to road disturbances across this region.

Abstract:Well site development associated with oil sands exploration is common in boreal mixedwood forests of northern Alberta, Canada, and necessitates reforestation to accommodate other land uses. Little is known about the impact of soil and debris handling strategies during well site construction on long-term forest regeneration. This study addresses the impact of soil disturbance intensity, debris treatment, soil storage, and planting on the reforestation of 33 well sites reclaimed prior to 2006. Data on the survival and growth of planted white spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss) and the regeneration density of deciduous trees, including trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx), are presented from 2014 to 2015. The survival of planted spruce increased from 81% to 88% at well sites with a high relative to low soil disturbance. The total tree densities were lower in most treatments (≤2.69 stems m −2 ) than those in clear cuts (5.17 stems m −2 ), with the exception of root salvage areas where clear cuts had greater balsam poplar (Populus balsamifera L.) densities (2.05 stems m −2 vs. <0.71 stems m −2 on all other treatments). Aspen densities were up to five times greater at well sites with low disturbance when compared to those with high disturbance, and this was further aided by shallow mulch at low disturbance sites. Spruce growth did not respond to well site treatments. Aspen growth (diameter and height) remained similar between well site disturbance regimes; aspen exposed to high disturbance underperformed relative to low disturbance well sites and clear cut controls. With high disturbance, progressive soil piling led to increases in the density of aspen and birch (Betula papyrifera Marshall). Few long-term changes in soil were found due to well site development, with a greater soil pH in high disturbance sites compared to low disturbance sites. Overall, these results indicate that the nature of well site construction, including the extent of soil removal, soil piling, and debris treatment, may collectively alter forest re-establishment, with associated implications for forest management.

No abstract