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Megaproject reclamation and climate change

Megaprojects such as oil sands mining require large-scale and long-term closure and reclamation plans. Yet these plans are created and approved without considering future climate and hydrological conditions, jeopardizing the sustainability of reclaimed landscapes.

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Figure 1: Current and future distribution of ecoregions.
Figure 2: Megaproject reclamation and climate change.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Alberta Innovates—Energy and Environment Solutions for funding, Z. Lindsay for graphic design assistance, R. Schneider for generously sharing his bioclimate envelope modelling results, and S. Bayley, H. D‵‵urr, and I. Evans for vital discussion and feedback.

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Correspondence to Rebecca C. Rooney.

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Rooney, R., Robinson, D. & Petrone, R. Megaproject reclamation and climate change. Nature Clim Change 5, 963–966 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate2719

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