In September 2000, eleven shrub species were planted in experimental plots at three different areas of the Brewery Creek Gold Mine near the Klondike River. All of these shrub species naturally grow in the mine area. The purpose of this project is to find out which of these shrub species may be useful for revetating the large open areas at the mine site, after the mine closes. It is anticipated that this information will also be useful when revegetating other mine sites in the Yukon.
The three sites chosen for these experiments are a steep north-facing slope, a steep south-facing slope, and a lower, nearly level area. The shrubs were planted in six plots at each of the three sites. All three areas had been graded and seeded in 1996-97, and there was a fairly thick growth of grasses and clovers at the time the shrubs were planted. To determine if this thick growth interfered with the survivial of the newly planted shrubs, the grass and clover was first removed from one half of each plot.
