Effects of pipeline and well‐pad reclamation on topsoil properties: A meta‐analysis

Abstract

The development of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracking has led to an increase in oil and natural gas extraction. Development of infrastructure to extract and transport these resources is expected to increase over the next few decades, resulting in extensive land disturbance. Although reclamation aims to sufficiently return disturbed lands to their pre‐disturbance use in an ecological sense, reclaimed rights‐of‐ways (ROW) commonly produce reduced crop yields. The objective of this study was to use meta‐analysis to determine soil disturbance trends across studies found in the peer‐reviewed literature. Papers that reported soil property data on disturbed ROWs and adjacent undisturbed sites were retrieved by searching the Web of Science database. Papers were separated by climate regions, resulting in analyses being conducted for studies in semiarid and humid climate regions. Results indicate that soil bulk density, soil organic matter, and pH are significantly increased on reclaimed ROWs. Soil metrics not incorporated in meta‐analysis due to insufficient observations or the possible presence of publication biases like a desire to publish significant results and poor study design (cation exchange capacity, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, total nitrogen, electrical conductivity, sodium, sodium adsorption ratio, and texture) are assessed and discussed. Best management practices gleaned from studies incorporated into meta‐analysis are discussed to provide strategies to limit soil property disturbances.

Evaluation of land preparation methods for soil stabilization, revegetation, and renewed productivity in semi‐arid climates

“…For example, Birkhimer et al (2023) and Brehm and Culman (2022) compiled the results from 20 to 26 papers, respectively, on numerous soil properties post-reclamation of pipelines and found that compaction measured as bulk density increased by 20% and 12.6%, respectively, and 40.9% for penetration resistance (PR) (Brehm & Culman, 2022). Compaction is a common problem noted by reclamation specialists, and they desire a timely method to gather data.…”