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Boreal ecosystems contain one-third of the world's forests and stored carbon, but these regions are under increasing threat from both natural and anthropogenic disturbances. Written by leaders from the forefront of private, public and academic sectors, Restoration and Reclamation of Boreal Ecosystems emphasises a broad, conceptual approach to the specific application of empirical research into development planning, restoration and modelling of these ecosystems. The importance of this is highlighted at a time of global climate change, as these ecosystems act as carbon sinks. There is a focus on the reclamation of exploited ecosystems from a holistic standpoint, ranging from environmental and edaphic variables to the restoration of keystone flora. Recent advances in quantification of ecosystem services, such as habitat suitability and carbon storage modelling, are also detailed. The book contains case-studies which address how both historical and novel assemblages can provide ecosystem stability under projected climatic and land-use scenarios. Table of Contents Preface Part I. Utilizing Natural Regimes as Models for Reclamation and Restoration: 1. The changing boreal forest: incorporating ecological theory into restoration planning 2. Disturbance and the peatland carbon sink in the Oil Sands Administrative Area 3. Regional-scale modeling of greenhouse gas fluxes 4. Reclamation and restoration of boreal ecosystems: attaining sustainable development 5. Fundamental paradigms, foundation species selection, and early plant responses to peatland initiation on mineral soils Part II. The Challenges of Reclamation in Boreal Ecosystems: 6. Advances in oil sands tailings management: building the base for oil sands reclamation 7. Rebuilding boreal forest ecosystems after industrial disturbance 8. Designing landscapes to support peatland development on soft tailings deposits: Syncrude Canada Ltd.'s Sandhill Fen Research Watershed initiative 9. Considerations for building a fen peatland in post-mined oil sands landscape 10. Plant community recovery on 'minimum disturbance' petroleum sites compared to burned sites in bogs of northern 11. Oil sands reclamation and the projected development of wildlife habitat attributes 12. Restoration of peatlands after peat extraction: impacts, restoration goals, and techniques 13. Importance of microbes in peatland dynamics, restoration, and reclamation Part III. Carbon in the Boreal Forest: 14. Carbon and nitrogen stocks in western boreal forest ecosystems 15. Projected patterns of C storage in upland forests reclaimed after oil sands mining 16. The business of carbon 17. Effects of peat extraction and restoration on greenhouse gas exchange from Canadian peatlands Index.