Session Abstract

Assessment of Reclaimed Sites using Crop Yield Data

An estimated 40000 ha of land in Alberta is disturbed by industrial activity on an annual basis. When these industrial sites such well sites, pipelines, or borrow pits are no longer productive, businesses must take appropriate measures to reclaim the site to meet the goal of equivalent land capability. One criteria to measure the success of this reclamation is visual assessment of crop plants. Another criteria that is currently being investigated includes the application of precision agriculture. Precision agriculture technologies utilizing Global Positioning Systems, Geographic Information Systems and harvest yield monitors provide many geo-referenced observations of crop yield per hectare. These crop yield observations are being used to quantify the success of reclamation when comparing crop yield from an industrial site to an off site area.

Speaker Biography

Ty Faechner

Ty Faechner, Ph.D., P.Ag., provides consulting services based on spatial management of agriculture data. He has instructed in the GIS Environmental Technology program at Assiniboine Community College, Brandon, Manitoba. Currently he operates a consulting business, Geotechnology Consultants (www.geotechnology.ca) that is devoted to providing GIS/GPS services for land resource management. He has taught GIS at King’s University College and the University of Alberta in Edmonton. Ty is a Professional Agrologist who received his PhD in spatial analysis for optimal herbicide treatment.