Time, climate, and soil settings set the course for reclamation outcomes following dryland energy development
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- Data Release: USGS data release - Vegetation and soil cover from 134 reclaimed oil and gas well pads and 583 AIM reference plots in the Southwestern United States
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Abstract
Soil attributes, climate, and time since reclamation have important implications for oil and gas reclamation success on drylands. It is uncertain if reclaimed well pads, on highly degraded drylands, can successfully regain ecological function or meet indicator benchmarks for reclamation. Here, our goals were to assess patterns in reclamation outcomes relative to (1) soil attributes, climate, and time since reclamation; and (2) plant and soil reference benchmarks. We collected a suite of plant, soil, and landscape characteristics from 134 reclaimed well pads on the Colorado Plateau that spanned climate and soil gradients and ranged from 2 to 20 years post-reclamation, then compared characteristics to those from 583 reference plots. On the reclaimed pads, less saline soils, more mesic climates, and longer time since reclamation were associated with favorable reclamation outcomes based on metrics of plant species richness and diversity, plant structure, and cover of important plant functional groups. However, most pads had major departures in 1/4 indicators, suggesting unsuccessful reclamation. Arid warm locations with shallow soils had the greatest percentage of major departures, and noxious plant richness had the greatest departures across soil and climate settings. Our assessment indicates reclamation is failing in key metrics for most pads, and the results highlight the role of environmental conditions in driving reclamation outcomes. These new insights are valuable for ascertaining possible reclamation outcomes and success rates following energy related disturbance, including orphaned wells and renewable energy development. Importantly, the approach used here has applicability for setting benchmarks and outcome standards.
Publication type | Article |
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Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
Title | Time, climate, and soil settings set the course for reclamation outcomes following dryland energy development |
Series title | Land Degradation and Development |
DOI | 10.1002/ldr.4856 |
Volume | 34 |
Issue | 17 |
Year Published | 2023 |
Language | English |
Publisher | Wiley |
Contributing office(s) | Southwest Biological Science Center, Western Geographic Science Center |
Description | 16 p. |
First page | 5438 |
Last page | 5453 |
Google Analytic Metrics | Metrics page |