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Keenesburg Mine 2014 Vegetation Monitoring Report <br />Figure 4: Absolute Cover of Desirable and Introduced Species in 2012 and 2014 <br />50 <br />45 <br />40 <br />35 <br />s• 30 <br />0 <br />U 25 <br />0 <br />220 <br />d <br />15 <br />10 <br />0 <br />■ Desirable Species ■Cheatgrass *Annual Intorudcted Forbs <br />2012 2014 2012 2014 <br />Area 30 <br />Area 31 <br />Table 8: Reclamation Area 30 Relative Cover Trends 2009 — 2014 <br />Life Form <br />Relative Cover ( %) <br />2009 <br />2010 <br />2011 <br />2012 <br />2014 <br />Cool Season Perennial Grasses <br />72.47 <br />34.24 <br />20.72 <br />22.75 <br />1.03 <br />Warm Season Perennial Grasses <br />4.64 <br />17.58 <br />36.04 <br />63.47 <br />28.86 <br />Cheat grass <br />9.28 <br />40.3 <br />11.71 <br />8.38 <br />34.71 <br />Annual Introduced Forbs <br />5.51 <br />4.85 <br />16.82 <br />0 <br />24.05 <br />The seed mixture used on Area 30 was 84% warm season grasses and 16% cool season grasses. <br />Thus, the current relative components would have been expected. However, May of 2007 (the <br />first growing season for this site) experienced precipitation that was 186% of average which may <br />have resulted in a flush of cool season grass germination. The subsequent years have slowly <br />brought the ratio back to what was anticipated in the seed mixture. The percentages used in the <br />seed mixture reflect what is observed in native sites in this area. Warm season species thrive <br />when monsoonal precipitation coincides with warm temperatures in the mid to late summer <br />months. Warm season species also tend to be more drought tolerant and have likely fared better <br />in the droughty conditions of the past several years. <br />Quantitative sampling in Area 31 has only occurred in 2012 and 2014 which precludes long term <br />trend analysis. Both warm season and cool season grasses decreased in relative cover from 2012 <br />to 2014, as a result of the drastic increases in relative cover of Cheatgrass and annual introduced <br />fortis (Table 9). While the decrease in relative cover of warm season grasses was small (58% to <br />Habitat Management, Inc. 14 September 2014 <br />