Can Ammoniacal Nitrogen from Gold Mining Effluent Be a Promising Alternative for Fertilizing Boreal Forest Stands?

Anoj Subedi (), Émilie Robert, Flavia Lega Braghiroli and Miguel Montoro Girona
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Anoj Subedi: Ecological Research Group in MRC Abitibi (GREMA), Forest Research Institute (IRF), University of Québec in Abitibi-Témiscamingue (UQAT), Amos, QC J9T 2L8, Canada
Émilie Robert: Centre Technologique des Résidus Industriels (CTRI), 433 Blvd. du Collège, Rouyn-Noranda, QC J9X 0E1, Canada
Flavia Lega Braghiroli: Forest Research Institute (IRF), University of Québec in Abitibi-Témiscamingue (UQAT), 445 Bd de l’Université, Rouyn-Noranda, QC J9X 5E4, Canada
Miguel Montoro Girona: Ecological Research Group in MRC Abitibi (GREMA), Forest Research Institute (IRF), University of Québec in Abitibi-Témiscamingue (UQAT), Amos, QC J9T 2L8, Canada

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 17, 1-19

Abstract: Nitrogen is an essential nutrient for plant functioning, photosynthesis, and metabolic activities. In terrestrial settings, nitrogen is not always sufficiently available because its basic form (N 2 ) must be fixed into other forms, such as nitrate and ammonium, to be usable by plants. Adding nitrogenous fertilizer to soils may provide a means of increasing forest productivity. Ammoniacal nitrogen (N-NH 3 ), an effluent produced during gold extraction, requires mining companies to manage its long-distance and costly transportation offsite for disposal. Applying this nitrogenous effluent, in its treated form of ammonium sulfate (ammoniacal nitrogen from mine water was converted into ammonium sulfate locally), to regional forest stands could provide a cost-effective and more environmentally sound means of managing this waste product and enhance forest productivity. Here, we conducted greenhouse- and field-based experiments to evaluate ammonium sulfate fertilization on black spruce ( Picea mariana ) and jack pine ( Pinus banksiana ) seedling growth. We assigned five treatments, varying in terms of the fertilizer concentration and presence/absence of biochar, to seedlings in greenhouse trials. We also applied various concentrations of ammonium sulfate to an 8-year-old black spruce plantation in Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Québec. We found that black spruce and jack pine seedlings experienced greater growth than the controls in terms of the stem diameter (32–44%), seedling height (21–49%), and biomass (86–154%). In the field experiment, we observed 37% greater volumetric growth in plots receiving medium-level fertilization than the control. Although nitrogen fertilization lowered the soil pH, essential nutrients increased to favor greater seedling growth. Thus, ammonium sulfate, derived from local mining effluent, appears to offer a suitable alternative for enriching nitrogen-limited boreal soils and increasing tree growth. This application could benefit both regional mining industries and forest management bodies.

Keywords: ammonium sulfate; biochar; boreal forest; productivity; sustainable forest management (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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