Organic Matter Additions for Improved Revegetation of Arsenic-Rich Waste Rock with Planted Boreal Conifers: A Three-Year In Situ Monitoring Study

Organic Matter Additions for Improved Revegetation of Arsenic-Rich Waste Rock with Planted Boreal Conifers: A Three-Year In Situ Monitoring Study | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Organic Matter Additions for Improved Revegetation of Arsenic-Rich Waste Rock with Planted Boreal Conifers: A Three-Year In Situ Monitoring Study Simon Taurines, Marie Guittonny, Armand Séguin This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-3869189/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 9 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Mining waste creates challenging soil conditions that hinder tree establishment for boreal forest restoration. This study investigated the effects of adding topsoil or ramial chipped wood (RCW) on the physicochemical properties of waste rock and the growth and survival of planted native tree species. An randomized-block setup with four treatments and repetitions was established on a gold mine site in western Quebec, Canada in 2018, and planted with Pinus banksiana and Abies balsamea . Results demonstrated that topsoil addition significantly improved height and diameter growth, aerial and root biomasses, survival, and nutrient uptake (N, P, and S) in conifer seedlings, concomitantly to increased water content, decreased pH, and elevated nutrient concentrations in the substrate. However, multivariate analysis revealed that these improved soil conditions alone did not determine the survival and growth of conifer seedlings. In contrast, the application of RCW-based treatments had no discernible impact on the growth and survival of the planted trees. Additionally, topsoil addition effectively reduced the concentration of potentially phytotoxic elements in soil and needles, particularly arsenic. The total arsenic concentration in the mineral substrate (84.1 to 507 µg.g − 1 ) emerged as a growth-limiting factor for both conifer species. The total concentration of arsenic in the waste rock correlated positively with arsenic accumulation in the tree needles, indicating potential root uptake of this element. This study emphasizes the significance of addressing arsenic availability during reclamation efforts at mine sites. Nonetheless, further research is required to determine the phytotoxic thresholds of arsenic on conifers and its potential metabolic effects. aspen ramial chipped wood topsoil mine waste afforestation Pinus banksiana Abies balsamea arsenic phytotoxicity Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files SupplementarymaterialTaurinesetalsubmitted.docx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 25 Apr, 2024 Reviews received at journal 12 Apr, 2024 Reviews received at journal 09 Apr, 2024 Reviewers agreed at journal 19 Mar, 2024 Reviewers agreed at journal 19 Mar, 2024 Reviewers invited by journal 18 Mar, 2024 Submission checks completed at journal 18 Jan, 2024 Editor assigned by journal 18 Jan, 2024 First submitted to journal 16 Jan, 2024 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-3869189","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":267817000,"identity":"419587ee-928f-4245-b384-77964317cfd8","order_by":0,"name":"Simon Taurines","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Simon","middleName":"","lastName":"Taurines","suffix":""},{"id":267817001,"identity":"e0ea1187-608b-471c-b363-89a3419f842e","order_by":1,"name":"Marie Guittonny","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA8klEQVRIiWNgGAWjYJCCAyCCDcqRI0ELGzOYYwzEjA3E2QXVkthASItu+9mHBz4w1Cb2yfcffFy443D6huPJzx8w1Njh1GJ2Jt3g4AyG44ltbMzMxjPPHM7dcOaZYQPDsWTcWg6kMRzmYTgG0sImzdsG1HIjwbCBsYEZt5bzzxgO/0HSkm5wI/0jUEs9bi03gLYwMNTAtSQY3MgB2XIYj5ZnDAd7DA4Yt7ElGxvztqUbzjzzpnBGwrHjeByWxvzhR0Wd7Pzmgw8f87ZZy/MdT9/w4UNNNU4tEGAAd0YzECeAESFQh8wgQv0oGAWjYBSMKAAAp1FYYdnWEycAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Marie","middleName":"","lastName":"Guittonny","suffix":""},{"id":267817002,"identity":"85f77490-7cf0-46be-a2f7-930771246024","order_by":2,"name":"Armand Séguin","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Ressources Naturelles Canada","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Armand","middleName":"","lastName":"Séguin","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2024-01-16 08:14:14","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-3869189/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-3869189/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":49945973,"identity":"c76de6ea-4fa8-4af4-acb9-ec8ec9b1d376","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-01-22 04:37:16","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":889104,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Taurinesetal.submitted.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-3869189/v1_covered_a73b066b-1962-459f-ba6b-ceae1251192c.pdf"},{"id":49945368,"identity":"5d1b1f2e-ee8a-414c-b9d7-a6132dff399d","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-01-22 04:29:08","extension":"docx","order_by":2,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":1195657,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"SupplementarymaterialTaurinesetalsubmitted.docx","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-3869189/v1/4ab2945ebad4040a82984674.docx"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Organic Matter Additions for Improved Revegetation of Arsenic-Rich Waste Rock with Planted Boreal Conifers: A Three-Year In Situ Monitoring Study","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"new-forests","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"nefo","sideBox":"Learn more about [New Forests](http://link.springer.com/journal/11056)","snPcode":"11056","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/11056/3","title":"New Forests","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"aspen ramial chipped wood, topsoil, mine waste afforestation, Pinus banksiana, Abies balsamea, arsenic phytotoxicity","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-3869189/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-3869189/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eMining waste creates challenging soil conditions that hinder tree establishment for boreal forest restoration. This study investigated the effects of adding topsoil or ramial chipped wood (RCW) on the physicochemical properties of waste rock and the growth and survival of planted native tree species. An randomized-block setup with four treatments and repetitions was established on a gold mine site in western Quebec, Canada in 2018, and planted with \u003cem\u003ePinus banksiana\u003c/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eAbies balsamea\u003c/em\u003e. Results demonstrated that topsoil addition significantly improved height and diameter growth, aerial and root biomasses, survival, and nutrient uptake (N, P, and S) in conifer seedlings, concomitantly to increased water content, decreased pH, and elevated nutrient concentrations in the substrate. However, multivariate analysis revealed that these improved soil conditions alone did not determine the survival and growth of conifer seedlings. 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