Laserfiche WebLink
Keenesburg Mine 2014 Vegetation Monitoring Report <br />Table 3: Reclamation Area 30 Species Composition <br />Life Form <br />Cover <br />Data <br />Present <br />Graminoids <br />Perennial <br />8 <br />10 <br />Annual <br />3 <br />4 <br />Native <br />10 <br />12 <br />Introduced <br />1 <br />2 <br />Cool Season <br />3 <br />3 <br />Warm Season <br />8 <br />11 <br />Total <br />11 <br />14 <br />Forbs <br />Perennial <br />2 <br />3 <br />Annual <br />6 <br />10 <br />Native <br />5 <br />8 <br />Introduced <br />3 <br />5 <br />Total <br />8 <br />13 <br />Woody Plants <br />0 <br />1 <br />Succulents & A avoids <br />0 <br />1 <br />Total Species <br />19 <br />29 <br />5.2 Reclamation Area 31 <br />Reclamation Area 31 is an 11.92 -acre parcel that was also part of the B Pit mining area. This <br />area was graded to blend into the undisturbed area to the west and the reclaimed mining and <br />operational areas to the east resulting in a gentle east - facing slope. Final revegetation seeding <br />with the DRMS- approved permanent seed mixture took place in the fall of 2009. <br />5.2.1 Vegetation Cover <br />Total vegetation cover of Reclamation Area 31 averaged 37.2% (Table 4) which represents a <br />large increase from the 25.8% observed in 2012. However, total native vegetation cover was <br />only 17.2 %. It was again necessary to remove cheatgrass from the total vegetation cover value <br />that was used to compare the Reclamation Area to the Success Standard resulting in a <br />comparison value of 20.2% for Reclamation Area 31. <br />The three dominant species each contributing to the cover nine of the ten transects were sand <br />dropseed, cheatgrass, and prickly lettuce. These species combined to contribute 20% of the total <br />vegetation cover on average. <br />5.2.2 Herbaceous Production <br />Total herbaceous production within Reclamation Area 31 averaged 101.64 g /m2 (907 lb /acre) in <br />2014 (Table 5). Perennial grasses accounted for 57% of this, while annual forbs contributed <br />36 %, perennial forbs 2 %, and annual grasses 5 %. Cheatgrass constituted 4% of the total <br />production and total average production without cheatgrass was 97.65 g/m2 (871 lb /acre) which <br />was the value used for comparison to the success standard. <br />Habitat Management, Inc. 10 September 2014 <br />