Young Innovators: USask researchers ‘dig deep’ to address heavy metal contamination in Canada’s boreal forest

Levi Lundell, soil science master student in the College of Agriculture and Bioresources (AgBio), is getting to the root of a big issue impacting Canada’s boreal forest. Working with Drs. Derek Peak (PhD) and Katherine Stewart (PhD), Lundell is investigating how boreal plants interact with contaminants from metal mines to see if these plants can be used in remediation and restoration efforts of abandoned or actively managed metal mine tailings.

“Metal mining is a huge part of the Canadian economy and there are sites scattered across our boreal forest,” said Lundell. “Over their lifespan, these mines produce a byproduct we call tailings. For mines, these tailings can sometimes be high in heavy metals which then can move through the surrounding environment.”

Lundell says that researchers have observed plants returning to some mine sites after they have been abandoned for several decades, but very little is understood about how these plants are interacting with the metals and other elements in the soils and tailings.

“We want to know how these boreal plant species respond to growing in soils and tailings that contain high levels of metal,” said Lundell. “We are investigating which species survive the best, how we can improve their growth and if these plants are pulling metals into their leaves and stems for animals to ingest.”

To conduct this research, Lundell samples mine tailings and the plants growing at these mine sites. Over the summer of 2024, Lundell grew these plants in the College of AgBio greenhouses, measuring their growth and preparing them for analysis in the lab.

“I’m trying to study the whole process, from the soil to the plants, so that my results can be used in the field,” said Lundell. “I started with studying the chemistry of the tailings before growing the plants and then examining how they respond to that environment.”

Starting from the ground up, Lundell has had the opportunity to study tailings samples at the Canadian Light Source (CLS) located at USask, using the SXRMB and BioXAS beamlines to gather detailed data. He plans to return to the synchrotron with plant samples, this time using  X-ray imaging to visualize how plants store metals in their leaves, stem and roots.

Lundell came to soil science by way of environmental science. As an undergraduate, he was introduced to ecology and toxicology before a particular soil chemistry class piqued his interest in the field. But Lundell said he’s has always been drawn to environmental remediation work.

“When I was a teenager, I learned about some environmental challenges and the hard work people were doing to figure out solutions,” said Lundell, “Restoration work really interested me, so I knew that was the direction I wanted to go but I wasn’t sure where I fit until I landed in soil science.”

From the mine site to the greenhouse and the lab bench to the CLS, Lundell is using a wide variety of tools to uncover what is left behind when mines end their operations. He hopes his work will provide unique insights for the future of environmental remediation and restoration processes.

“Every mine is going to have a different process, but our results could give restoration practitioners new tools to understand and restore these mine sites, so they are safe long-term,” said Lundell.