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(Nto <br />0 <br />"Testing Revegetation of Mined Lands for Success <br />A Complex Problem in Need of a Simple Solution" <br />by Wayne E. Sowards <br />Testing revegetation of mined lands for success or failure is a multi— <br />faceted problem with many subtleties. The test is extremely important to mine <br />operators, regulatory authorities, and future land users, since it is the basis <br />for achieving bond release and is the indicator of the future value of lands <br />affected by mining. <br />Current Regulatory Approaches 1 <br />The current regulatory approaches to testing for revegetation success in <br />Colorado are evident from the Federal Office of Surface Mining (1979) <br />f <br />regulations, the Colorado Mined Land Reclamation' Division (1980) regulations and <br />two documents written for the Office of Surface Mining (Bonham et al, 1980; <br />Larson, 1980). <br />In general, the regulatory agencies expect statistical comparisons of <br />herbaceous plant production and cover and woody plant density against specific <br />standards of achievement. They also anticipate a quantification of species <br />diversity to further test success or failure. Tests for cover and production <br />must be done with 80 or 90% statistical confidence depending upon whether or not <br />the areas are considered to be._shrublands or grasslands. Woody plant density <br />must be tested with 80% confidence. The Federal regulations, in particular, lean <br />heavily on the concept of using reference areas for establishing the standards of <br />achievement. Simply stated, reference areas are areas similar and adjacent to <br />those to be disturbed by mining, but which are protected from disturbance. These <br />i9G2 <br />