Marc Mayhew, instructor of forest technology at Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT), makes a comparison of site preparation methods on sub-surface soil resistance and moisture on reclaimed industrial sites in northwestern Alberta. This project was launched to better understand the role of soil compaction on reclamation success, and aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of soil adjustments on soil resistance and volumetric water content, as well as map sub-surface soil characteristics.
Soil properties were assessed in the summer of 2013. Three of four well sites and 16 treatment plots were used, and divided into four types: control, mixing, mounding, and rip-plow. Mayhew reviews the results to date on soil resistance, and discusses the high variability with mounding and mixing soil. This presentation was a part of the Alberta Soil Science Workshop in February of 2015.
