Laserfiche WebLink
4.0 RESULTS <br />4.1 Irrigated Pasture <br />Revegetation evaluation for Irrigated Pasture consisted of monitoring 2014 (Year 2) units. The 2014 <br />Irrigated Pasture units comprised 25.6 acres. The Irrigated Pasture Reference Area was also evaluated <br />to provide a performance comparison. Additional information on irrigation can be found in the 2016 <br />Annual Reclamation Report. <br />2014 Unit (Year 2): <br />Sampling on the 2014 Irrigated Pasture unit consisted of systematic distribution of 15 ground cover <br />transects. A total of 4 plant species were encountered within the 2014 Irrigated Pasture unit evaluated in <br />2016 (Table 2). Ground cover in the 2014 Irrigated Pasture unit (Chart 1 and Table 2) consisted of <br />96.80% live vegetation, 0.0% rock, 1.00% litter, and bare ground exposure of 2.20%. Desirable <br />perennial cover across the unit averaged 96.80%, with annual and biennial cover averaging 0.00% <br />absolute cover. Noxious weeds cover was also 0.00% absolute cover. Dominant taxa were alfalfa <br />(Medicago sativa), orchard grass (Dactylis glomerata), and meadow brome (Bromus biebersteinii) with <br />42.13%, 27.73%, and 26.60% average cover, respectively. <br />Total production in the 2014 Irrigated Pasture unit consisted of 2,561.7 lbs/ac, while perennial <br />production consisted of 2,511.4 lbs/ac (Table 3, Chart 3). The relative forage quality based on <br />production was 98.0% (Table 4). <br />Irrigated Pasture Reference Area: <br />Sampling on the Irrigated Pasture Reference Area consisted of systematic distribution of 15 ground <br />cover transects. A total of 12 plant species were encountered within the Irrigated Pasture Reference <br />Area evaluated in 2016 (Table 2). Ground cover in the Irrigated Pasture Reference Area (Table 2 and <br />Charts 1 and 2) consisted of 95.60% live vegetation, 0.0% rock, 3.80% litter, and bare ground exposure <br />of 0.60%. Desirable perennial cover across the unit averaged 95.60%, with annual and biennial cover <br />averaging 0.00% absolute cover. Noxious weeds cover was also 0.00 % absolute cover. Dominant taxa <br />were tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea) and small -wing sedge (Carex microptera) with 58.20% and <br />10.73% average cover, respectively. <br />Total production in the 2016 Irrigated Pasture reference Area consisted of 1,889.2 lbs/ac, while <br />perennial production consisted of 1,885.1 lbs/ac (Table 3, Chart 3). <br />E.3 <br />