The use of geographic information systems has grown over the past decade as a tool for studying ecosystems and the impacts of human activity upon them. Researchers with the SDKI Sustainable Management and Rehabilitation of Mine Sites for Decision Support project are working collaboratively with industry and government to facilitate the use of geographic-based tools for sustainable mine management.

The City of Greater Sudbury has made great progress over the past 25 years in restoring the vegetation cover that had been destroyed by the effects of mining. Historically, Sudbury's land cover consisted of stands of red and white pine. As the area developed, logging, and later, mineral exploration, mining and smelting activities left large areas barren of tree cover, and gave the area its reputation as a "moonscape". As the mining industry in Sudbury introduced cleaner technologies that reduced pollutants into the atmosphere, the City, in collaboration with the mining companies, embarked on a plan to re-vegetate the area though a massive soil liming and tree-planting campaign. This has resulted in a "re-greening" of the region by the successful growth of planted conifer trees, as well as the natural re-colonization of areas, primarily by birch, poplar and metal tolerant grass species (Fig. 1).

Figure 1a. rock left barren by smelter emissions in the Sudbury area

Figure 1b. area of forest where vegetation cover has colonized as a result of reduced emissions

In partnership with the City of Greater Sudbury, SDKI is working to provide information extraction techniques, data integration and spatial data modelling procedures to facilitate the use of satellite and airborne remote sensing for monitoring the progress of reclamation of the natural environment. This information can supplement ground-based studies that have examined the metal content in soils and vegetation in the region. Figure 2 shows a colour-infrared image derived from Landsat TM data acquired in 1987 over an area covering most of the City of Greater Sudbury. In this image, areas with vegetation cover are highlighted in red. Using historical Landsat and RADARSAT acquisitions over the study area, information on land cover change can be extracted to assess the progress of reclamation. This can range from assessing the vigour of the vegetation, to tracking changes in the species assemblages over time.

Figure 2. Colour-infrared image of Sudbury region using Landsat imagery from 1987. Vegetated areas appear in reddish in colour where urban/disturbed areas are green. The yellow boundary represents the study area for vegetation change detection and approximates the municipal boundary of the City of Greater Sudbury.

Through SDKI, researchers will develop an information system to integrate spatial information derived from remote sensing, as well as point source information and other geospatial data to facilitate decision-support for future reclamation work in the City of Sudbury. As part of the system development, the project will work with stakeholders to define geospatial requirements for user applications, and build on the data availability from various government, industry and academic partners involved in ecological risk assessment. This information system will serve as a prototype for decision-support for mining-affected regions.