Environmental Assessment
Volume C-4.1
Slurry Pipeline
Flora
Ambatovy Project
85
January 2006
Table 4.1-3 Residual Impact Classification for Loss or Alteration of Plant
Communities
Component
Direction
Magnitude
Geographic
Extent
Duration
Reversibility
Frequency
Environmental
Consequence
losses or alterations to (natural) plant communities
azonal forest
neutral
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
azonal type
transitional
forest
neutral
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
transitional
forest
negative
low
local
long-term
irreversible
medium
low
zonal forest
negative
moderate
local
medium-
term
reversible
high
low
marsh edge
forest
neutral
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
marsh
herbaceous
vegetation
negative
low
local
medium-
term
reversible
high
low
n/a Not applicable (neutral impacts not classified).
Residual Impacts to Zonal Vegetation
A total of 23 ha of zonal forest will be impacted from slurry pipeline construction
activities (2% of this vegetation type) resulting in a low magnitude. The extent
of effects will be restricted to the local area but will extend beyond the life of the
project (long-term duration). Effects are generally considered irreversible;
however, with the use of native species during reclamation, the area will exhibit
similarities to pre-disturbance conditions when it reaches maturity. Based on
this, the environmental consequence for clearing zonal vegetation within the
slurry pipeline LSA is predicted to be low.
Reclamation
To address the concern of native forest habitat loss, the proponent has made a
commitment to reclaim sections of the pipeline rights-of-way to a zonal forest
status (or as close to this state as technically and ecologically possible) using
native species. These sections occur immediately east of the mine footprint
(R0+000 to R2+000) and within the Mantadia-Zahamena Conservation Corridor
(R16+000 to R26+000; Volume C, Section 4.1) amounting to 60 ha in total.
Two general methods of reclamation will be used along the slurry pipeline route.
For a majority of the length where areas have been previously disturbed, the
primary reclamation objective is to control erosion. Within sections where
transitional and zonal forest exist (i.e, between R0+000 and R2+000 and between
R16+000 and R26+000) habitat rehabilitation will incorporate the use of native
species with the long-term objective of re-establishing native primary forest.
