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PRODUCTION <br />(Table A-16) <br />Total herbaceous production in 2015 was 961.8 pounds per acre, all of which was allowable herbaceous <br />production. Of this, 708.4 pounds were native perennial cool season grasses, 169.5 were native <br />perennial forbs, and 42.8 were introduced annual and biennia forbs. Four other lifeforms, native annual <br />and biennial forbs, introduced perennial cool season grasses, introduced annual grasses, and introduced <br />perennial forbs, were present at less than 25 pounds per acre. <br />DISCUSSION <br />Climatic Conditions <br />2015 saw optimal growing conditions with precipitation at or above average from fall of 2014 through <br />spring of 2015, including an exceptional increase in precipitation during May (Figure D-7). This ample <br />amount of available moisture can cause a boost in germination and an increase in abundance of <br />dominant perennial species in established areas. 2015 also had above average temperatures (Figures <br />D-11), which demonstrates an unusual combination of high precipitation with high temperatures. This <br />same unusual combination of precipitation and temperatures occurred in 2014. The effect on plant <br />growth was seen in elevated foliar cover, throughout the areas sampled in 2015 and especially in the <br />growth of perennial grasses and forbs which were much more abundant than what has been typical. <br />Sample Adequacy Calculations <br />Sample adequacy based on all -hit allowable herbaceous cover was achieved in BRB-3 and each of the <br />extended reference areas in 2015, except the Steep Mountain Brush Extended Reference Area where the <br />alternative of using the upper 90% probability value of the mean was exercised. In other words, after <br />having established a reliable estimate of population variance having taken 16 samples in the Steep <br />Mountain Brush ERA (It can be assumed that the CDRMS minimum sample size (15) is intended to <br />produce a reasonable estimate of population variance [which is true based on experience]), the maximum <br />possible values of the mean (with 90% confidence) was taken to represent the allowable herbaceous <br />cover of the Steep Mountain Brush ERA. Details of the calculation of allowable herbaceous cover for <br />each area are provided in Tables H-1 through H-6. <br />22 <br />