Root development on cuttings of seven arctic shrub species for revegetation

ABSTRACT

Vegetation removal during resource extraction in the Arctic causes long-lasting impacts requiring revegetation to accelerate plant reestablishment. This study focused on root development on shrub cuttings from seven common species at Diavik Diamond Mine, Northwest Territories. Two experiments were conducted; the first had six soaking times (zero, one, three, five, ten, twenty days), four indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) concentrations (0, 0.1, 0.4, 0.8 percent), and three seasons (summer, fall, spring). The second had a control, three IBA concentrations (0.1, 0.4, 0.8 percent) or alternative chemical compounds, either three Salix water or three smoke water extracts, in two seasons (summer, fall). After sixty days, all species developed at least primary and secondary roots in at least one season in one experiment, including one previously undocumented species, Kalmia procumbens. Rooting characteristics were highly variable, with maximum percentage of rooted cuttings from 3 to 55 percent and maximum number of roots per cutting from 1 to 117 across species, seasons, and experiments. Though rooting percentages were low, species-specific interactions between season and Salix water extract and smoke water extract were observed. Assessing multiple species highlights the potential of vegetative propagation to revegetate northern disturbed sites with common species that lack reliable seed sources.

KEYWORDS:

• Shrub cuttings
• arctic
• revegetation
• reclamation
• adventitious roots

Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge Dr. Peter Blenis and Dr. Sasha van der Klein for statistical analysis support, the two anonymous reviewers for their comments and suggestions, and the many people who assisted with all the various aspects of this research project.

Supplementary material

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Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The work was made possible through funding and in-kind support provided by Diavik Diamond Mine Inc. and funding provided by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Weston Family Foundation, Alberta Innovates, the Helmholtz–Alberta Initiative, and the Land Reclamation International Graduate School, through the NSERC CREATE program.