Oribatid mite recovery along a chronosequence of afforested boreal sites following oil sands mining

Bitumen extraction via surface mining has affected nearly 1000 km2 of boreal forest habitat in the Athabasca oil sands region of Alberta, Canada, pushing entire ecosystems back to the primary stages of forest and soil succession. Previous work in the Athabasca oil sands region has investigated the influence of vegetation, mineral reclamation material, and peat cover soil on microbial communities and the quality of soil carbon. No research has...