Surface mine operators in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region (AOSR) of northeastern Alberta are required by regulation to mitigate habitat impacts resulting from their operations, including impacts to wetlands. To date, most land reclamation efforts have focused on recreating upland forestlands that resemble the surrounding natural (dry) boreal forest. However, the surficial conditions on these reclaimed upland sites can also promote spontaneous wetland development. At Suncor’s Base Plant mine, opportunistic wetlands occurring on reclamation sites have not been formally included in the current inventory of reclaimed wetland areas and remain largely unquantified. We characterized and delineated an estimated 210 ha of opportunistic wetlands (consisting of shallow open water, marshes, and swamps) using aerial photo interpretation and remote sensing analysis in combination with follow-up field verifications. The remote-based (desktop) delineations consistently underestimated actual wetland extents, due mainly to underestimations in the extent of non-inundated vegetation zones (e.g., wet meadow) as well as shrubby swamp. After field corrections, opportunistic wetland habitat was estimated to constitute ~ 17% of the total study area (1209 ha), representing more than a fourfold increase in aerial wetland extent associated with reclaimed landforms over that delineated prior to this study. The interspersion of opportunistic wetlands with upland reclaimed landforms, although unintended, more closely reflects the pre-disturbance landscape, which was characterized by a matrix of forestlands, peatlands, and mineral wetlands (in contrast to the more peatland-dominated lowlands). At Suncor, wetland vegetation composition varied significantly across the study area and was influenced by topographic variation (e.g., in elevation and % slope) in combination with the reclamation substrates (soils) that were placed prior to seeding/planting. Thus, the inclusion of opportunistic wetland delineation in reclamation tracking and closure planning merits consideration as does the opportunity to manipulate current reclamation practices to promote the establishment and persistence of wetlands on reclaimed landforms.

法规要求位于阿尔伯塔省东北部的阿萨巴斯卡油砂地区（AOSR）的露天矿作业者减轻其作业对栖息地的影响，包括对湿地的影响。迄今为止，大多数土地开垦工作都集中在重建类似于周围天然（干燥）北方森林的山地林地上。但是，这些开垦的高地上的地表条件也可以促进自然湿地的发展。在Suncor的Base Plant矿山中，开垦地点上的机会性湿地尚未正式纳入现有的开垦湿地区域清单中，并且仍未进行量化。我们对大约210公顷的机会性湿地（包括浅水，沼泽，和沼泽），结合航拍照片解释和遥感分析以及后续的现场验证。基于远程（桌面）的划定始终低估了实际的湿地范围，这主要是由于未淹没的植被区（例如，湿润的草地）以及灌木丛沼泽的程度被低估了。经过现场校正后，据估计机会性湿地栖息地约占总研究面积的17％（1209公顷），这意味着与开垦地貌相关的空中湿地范围比该研究之前所描述的增加了四倍以上。机会主义湿地与高地开垦的地形交错分布，尽管这是意料之外的，但更能反映出扰动前的景观，其特征是森林，泥炭地，和矿物湿地（与以泥炭地为主的低地相反）。在森科尔（Suncor），湿地植被组成在研究区域内变化很大，并受到地形变化（例如海拔和坡度百分比）以及在播种/种植前放置的填海基质（土壤）的影响。因此，将机会主义湿地划定纳入开垦跟踪和封闭计划中是值得考虑的，操纵当前开垦做法以促进在复垦地貌上建立和维持湿地的机会同样值得考虑。高度和坡度百分比）与在播种/播种前放置的填海基质（土壤）相结合。因此，将机会主义湿地划定纳入开垦跟踪和封闭计划中是值得考虑的，操纵当前开垦做法以促进在复垦地貌上建立和维持湿地的机会同样值得考虑。高度和坡度百分比）与在播种/播种前放置的填海基质（土壤）相结合。因此，将机会主义湿地划定纳入开垦跟踪和封闭计划中是值得考虑的，操纵当前开垦做法以促进在复垦地貌上建立和维持湿地的机会同样值得考虑。