This peatland used to be an oil well!
A story of a Bog in Alberta, Canada
The opinions and views expressed in this blog are solely those of the author and do not represent those of any individuals mentioned in the article or their affiliated organizations.
The Legacy of Exploration
Satellite imagery showing a network of oil well-pads and lines
The landscape is a criss-cross circuit board of squares and lines superimposed over a wet and wild terrain. We’re on the lands of the First Nations, Metis and Inuit subject to colonial Treaty 6 in what is presently-called Alberta, Canada and this landscape is the result of decades of oil and gas extraction on peatlands.
The squares are in-situ oil and gas well-pads, created by laying down mineral fill (typically clay) material over cleared peatland to create a solid foundation for equipment and operation. The lines are temporary access routes including winter roads and ‘seismic lines’ where equipment is deployed to analyse the subsurface geology to figure out the best place to establish a longer-term operation for oil extraction. These temporary linear features are created and accessed in the Canadian winter when the surface of the peat is frozen solid - the idea being that peat compaction caused by heavy machines would therefore be minimal and the lines would recover without the need for active restoration.
The lines and squares that we see are so visible because of the clearance of peatland trees and shrubs, along with compaction of the mossy ground surface and a change in thermo-hydrological regimes leading to a shift towards sedge dominated vegetation. In contrast to other peatlands, where trees might lead to peat drying and a transition towards woodland, the hydrology of the area means the land naturally remains wet despite a dense covering of black spruce and tamarack trees drawing up water. These slow-growing, thin-trunked trees also let plenty of light through for mosses and shrubs to grow beneath them and establish the bumpy hummock-hollow surface typical of diverse peatlands.
So why - even after active restoration and many decades - haven’t these tree-covered landscapes recovered in all their bumpy complexity? And what can we do about it?
After exploration, industry has a legal obligation to remove the mineral fill and reclaim the well pads, while the temporary linear features are expected to naturally regenerate. But this often hasn’t been the case. There have been a lack of proven solutions to reestablish peat-forming vegetation on well-pads. Instead, many of the well-pads are left as grassy patches under outdated reclamation guidelines and criteria. The seismic lines have not naturally regenerated because the surface compaction causes the water table to sit too high for trees to establish. Upland restoration techniques such as mounding, where piles of soil are dug out and flipped to decompact the soil surface, have not worked when applied on wet peat soils.
Collaborating with Moss and Water
Reflection of people in hi-vis jackets in a pool within a seismic line
Dr Bin Xu, Research Chair in Peatland Restoration at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology, has adapted peatland restoration methods originally developed by Line Rochefort on bogs in eastern Canada which were mined for the horticultural peat industry. The approach is simple but transformative: water and mosses have to take centre stage. If you don’t address the hydrology of the area - understanding how water moves and sits in this disturbed landscape - and take steps to address this, then the peatland won’t recover. Removing or burying mineral fill and reprofiling the buried peat surface can shift the topography of the pad back into line with the surroundings and re-establish water flow. And once the hydrological situation is on the mend, get Sphagnum in there to work its magic. We’ve all heard Sphagnum moss be called an ‘ecosystem engineer’, so when we humans need to re-engineer the land to repair the damage of industry- our most qualified collaborator is right there, waiting just off to the side of the well-pad! A layer of straw mulch helps to protect Sphagnum from the elements in the very early stages, and then once established the Sphagnum carpet holds water and shifts its chemistry, filtering out any non-peatland species which may have found their way in during the transition.
Polytrichum, another kind of moss, also lends a helping hand. Polytrichum (or haircap moss) is what is known as a pioneer species: those species which have adaptations to the difficult conditions of exposed land and are the first to establish in an area after a disturbance. A unique feature of Polytrichum enabling it to do this are the small ridges on its stem leaves called lamellae. These increase the surface area available for photosynthesis, but they also help the moss retain water when conditions are dry and continue to access oxygen when they may be flooded. This is because in dry conditions, moisture can be retained in between those grooves, while when flooded it is small air bubbles that remain in the grooves. These are all great adaptations to growing well on exposed patches of ground, such as bare peat, which can easily dry out in wind and sun, as well as flooding or frosting over. And once Polytrichum has established, it helps other plants get a foothold - by catching seeds and spores blown in the wind and trapping moisture on the peat surface.
Highways for Wolves
Seismic line restored using Hummock Transfer Technique (HTT), August 2025
For those seismic lines, Dr Xu also turns to the peatland itself for help. These lines are too wet for trees to grow because of the peat compaction by the oil industry’s machinery. An approach often used in upland forest areas is to dig up the soil surface and flip it upside down, breaking up the compacted ground and creating a more favourable environment for trees to establish. Now imagine doing this on peat. All you would end up with are piles of slop decomposing in the fresh air and releasing stored carbon. This also creates water-filled pools that become methane hotspots and are unsuitable for vegetation growth for years.
We know where trees and shrubs like to grow on peatlands: hummocks. So Dr Xu suggests simply going along the seismic line and transferring hummocks from just off of the line onto the compacted peat, or the Hummock Transfer Technique (HTT). Sphagnum growth around the hummock edge stitches the hummock to the peat surface, recreating a gradual hummock-hollow bumpiness to the line.The mossy mounds can self-regulate moisture for better tree survival and growth, compared to mounds of humified peat through conventional mounding. More importantly, the transferred hummocks often contain a mix of seeds of trees and shrubs, greatly reduce the need for additional tree planting and accelerate the recovery of vegetation.
Restoring hummocks and trees to the seismic lines is expected to support local caribou populations. This is because, as Dr Xu describes it, these lines act as highways for wolves. I can confirm that it is far harder to walk through the forested peatland areas than the seismic lines! In the tree-covered areas you can only really see a few metres ahead, compared to the long straight views down the seismic lines. Caribou are a particularly significant species for First Nations, Metis and Inuit, and have been driven to decline significantly in recent decades. Reintroducing trees to seismic lines is one possible way to support the recovery of this iconic species.
A Toolkit for a Just Transition
Tree planted with flagging as part of experiment testing tree establishment in HTT hummocks
Peatland restoration is no substitute for the urgent work needed to phase out fossil fuels. The oil industry continues to maintain rampant extraction in Alberta and elsewhere, fuelling increasing temperatures and forest fires which have killed tens of thousands.
Peatland restoration is no substitute for protecting intact peatlands. While we can bring back peatland vegetation and hydrology, preventing massive amounts of further carbon being released, it will take centuries to recover the carbon emitted as a result of the initial drainage.
But an effective peatland restoration toolkit is an important piece of the puzzle for a just transition. With a proven method for rapidly restoring peatland ecology at our hands, peatland restoration could be a growing pathway for workers alongside things like renewable energy. And as well as repairing the damage done by industry, peatland restoration could help to strengthen Indigenous sovereignty through supporting caribou populations.
While the context remains complex and the future uncertain, seeing first-hand how people are working with moss and water to restore diversity to peatlands, seeing wetness and greenness find itself where it belongs again, one cannot help but feel hopeful - as well as humble.
Further reading
How Scientists are Restoring Boreal Peatlands
Restoration of boreal peatland impacted by an in-situ oil sands well-pad 1: Vegetation response
Smoke from Canada’s wildfires killed nine-year-old Carter Vigh – and 82,000 others around the world
Indigenous-led conservation of Caribou
Nature-based Solutions can generate 20 million new jobs
List of 27 Indigenous-Led Natural Climate Solutions projects 2023–2024
