The Suncor oilsands mine near Fort McMurray. A joint study published online by biological scientists Rebecca Rooney, Suzanne Bayley and David Schindler and published online shows land mined for bitumen will never be rehabilitated to its pre-mining state.

EDMONTON - A University of Alberta study shows the oilsands region could be drier and more susceptible to forest fires in future, if naturally occurring northeastern Alberta wetlands are not reclaimed.

A joint study by biological scientists Rebecca Rooney, Suzanne Bayley and David Schindler and published online shows the pitfalls of failing to rehabilitate land mined for bitumen to its original state.

Specifically, the article published in an upcoming edition of PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America) shows an overall decrease in wetlands in northeastern Alberta, more uplands forest in place of peatlands, and more deep water and freshwater habitat replacing what was once bog.

As well, what was once a landscape populated by black spruce, tamarack, sedges and Labrador tea plants will become home to white spruce, jack pine, trembling aspen, blueberries, dogwood and lowbush cranberries.

“Claims by industry that they will ‘return the land we use — including reclaiming tailings ponds — to a sustainable landscape that is equal to or better than how we found it’ ... are clearly greenwashing,” the authors write.

They are expected to present their findings Tuesday at the University of Alberta.

In response to the report, an oilsands industry spokesman said three decades of bitumen mining has contributed to lessons being learned and used for reclamation.

“There is an expectation that reclamation moves faster than it has been, and industry is cognizant of that. It’s a challenging environment, but we’ve certainly had some success to date in reclaiming areas, and we hope to continue that,” said Travis Davies, spokesman for the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers. “We’ve had some naturally occurring wetlands and some by design return to the landscape in our reclamation process. But I think the point is, can you make a sustainable landscape that supports an ecosystem?”

In their study, Schindler, Rooney and Bayley demand more “rigorous” and independent assessment of oilsands reclamation and point out the failure of the province to have established a wetlands policy tied to reclamation contributes to a total overhaul of the area’s landscape.

The authors also say the “destruction” of more than 29,500 hectares of peatland habitat means loss of carbon storage. Essentially, with the loss of peat cover, the contribution of oilsands development to overall carbon emissions and climate change could grow substantially, they say. “The boreal forest is the world’s largest and most important forest carbon storehouse ... but its continued storage depends on future management practices.”

Oilsands giant Syncrude estimates it has reclaimed about 20 per cent of the land that has been disturbed. Work on extensive wetlands rehabilitation is starting now.

“(We have) the opportunity now to focus on areas where we can build wetlands. ...” said Syncrude environmentalist Robert Vassov, noting there is ongoing and new research taking place at the Mildred Lake and Aurora mines, near Fort McMurray.

“Over the past 10 years we’ve come to learn that in our part of the world, the climate and the deep geology and groundwater and surface water are all connected together, so that you have to kind of understand each piece of the puzzle to understand why wetlands are important in your landscape. ... This research is helping us understand how wetlands play a role.”

taudette@edmontonjournal.com