Vegetation and soil water interactions on a tailings sand storage facility in the athabasca oil sands region of Alberta Canada

Abstract The relationship between vegetation and soil water was studied on the Syncrude South West Sand Storage facility in the Athabasca Oil Sands region of Alberta, Canada. Soil water and relevant soil chemical and physical properties were measured at the soil surface, as well as above and below the reclamation soil and tailings sand interface, in areas of low and high vegetation cover. The interface between the reclamation soil and the tailings sand acted as a capillary barrier. Water content was highest under low vegetation cover but soil water conditions above field capacity were rare and unlikely to have impacted vegetation. Periods of water stress occurred, where volumetric water content was below wilting point; these periods were of short duration and generally typical of ecosystems in the study area. Differences in surface soil water between the two vegetation covers were attributed to evapotranspiration and/or canopy interception. Differences above and below the interface were attributed to variation in canopy cover at the surface and resulting quantities of water available for percolation through the soil profiles. At the interface of the reclamation soil and tailings sand, water movement was restricted. High and low canopy covers responded differently to precipitation events; low vegetation cover areas had greater fluctuations in volumetric water content at all depths. The occurrence of a capillary barrier effect will need to be accounted for in developing reclamation soil profiles.