BRITTANY RANTALA-SYKES Growth and Restoration Potential of Five Nitrogen Fixing Species on Soil Amendments of Waste Rock and Materials from Victor Mine

ii Understanding plant-soil interactions in mine waste soils is essential for effective, low maintenance remediation to occur. Nitrogen fixing plants are especially important for remediation of mine overburden because it contains little to no organic material or nitrogen. Inoculating plants with nitrogen fixing actinomycete bacteria and mycorrhizal spores is essential in mine soils. Using a growth chamber I examined the growth of four native shrub species: and one non-native legume species on a soil created by mine waste overburden by a 20:60:20 ratio of FPK:CPK:silt (fine processed kimberlite, coarse processed kimberlite), 40 % peat (by volume) and a control soil of vermiculite and peat. They were inoculated with two types of materials and supplemented with phosphorus fertilizer. There were significant differences in plant dry mass between species and soil type and a significant interaction between species and soil type. For the species Alnus rugosa and Trifolium repens, the difference in the number of nodules, root, shoot, and total masses was large for control and kimberlite soil; As well Alnus crispa did not survive in any kimberlite soils. For Alnus crispa, Alnus rugosa, and Trifolium repens there was a large reduction in plant growth of the kimberlite soil. This was a likely consequence of the non-optimal high pH in kimberlite soil and small seed size for both Alnus sp and T. repens. However for the species Shepherida canadensis and Elaeagnus commutata the difference in root, shoot, and total masses, and number of nodules was much smaller for kimberlite and control soils, suggesting they are candidate species of nitrogen fixing shrubs for reclamation at Victor mine in HBL