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Plant Cover. Total plant cover on this site averaged 64.67 percent and litter cover averaged 27.00 <br />percent. The average percent total herbaceous plant cover value obtained from the 2014 sampling <br />was 42.73 percent with a variance of 248.06. <br />Grasses were the dominant plant life form encountered on this site, contributing 28.87 percent of the <br />total plant cover or 44.64 percent of the total relative cover. Shrubs were the second most dominant <br />plant life form, contributing 21.93 percent of the total plant cover or 33.92 percent of the total <br />relative cover. Annuals and biennials contributed 7.00 percent of the total plant cover or 10.82 <br />percent of the total relative cover. Perennial forbs contributed 6.47 percent of the total plant cover or <br />10.00 percent of the total relative cover. Noxious weeds contributed 0.40 percent of the total plant <br />cover or 0.62 percent of the total relative cover. <br />Mountain Big Sagebrush was the dominant plant species encountered, contributing 25.36 of the total <br />relative plant cover found on this site. The other dominant plants encountered were: Smooth Brome, <br />Kentucky Bluegrass, Western Wheatgrass and Intermediate Wheatgrass, which contributed 15.57, <br />6.29, 5.89 and 4.33 percent, respectively, of the total relative cover on this area. <br />Production. The average air-dry total herbaceous forage production equaled 45.38 g/1/4 m2 (181.43 <br />g/m2 with a variance of 4,775.83) or 1,616.6 pounds of air-dry forage per acre. Perennial grasses <br />contributed 32.85 g/1/4 m2 or 72.42 percent of the air-dry herbaceous forage. Perennial forbs <br />contributed 6.46 g/1/4 m2 or 14.24 percent of the air-dry herbaceous forage production. Annual <br />grasses contributed 4.38 g/1/4 m2 or 9.66 percent of the air-dry herbaceous forage production. <br />Annual forbs contributed 1.47 g/1/4 m2 or 3.24 percent of the air-dry herbaceous forage production. <br />Noxious weeds contributed 0.20 g/1/4 m2 or 0.44 percent of the air-dry herbaceous forage <br />production. <br />The average oven -dry total herbaceous forage production equaled 42.88 g/1/4 m2 or 1,528.2 pounds <br />of oven -dry forage per acre. Perennial grasses contributed 30.97 g/1/4 m2 or 72.22 percent of the <br />oven -dry herbaceous forage. Perennial forbs contributed 6.18 g/1/4 m2 or 14.41 percent of the oven - <br />dry herbaceous forage production. Annual grasses contributed 4.18 g/1/4 m2 or 9.75 percent of the <br />oven -dry herbaceous forage production. Annual forbs contributed 1.39 g/1/4 m2 or 3.24 percent of <br />the air-dry herbaceous forage production. Noxious weeds contributed 0.18 g/1/4 m2 or 0.42 percent <br />of the air-dry herbaceous forage production. <br />Shrub Density. The average shrub density was determined to equal 275.85 shrubs per one hundred <br />square meters (2.75 shrubs per square meter) or 11,163.6 shrubs per acre. Mountain Big Sagebrush, <br />Mountain Snowberry, Saskatoon Serviceberry and Black Chokecherry were the most commonly <br />encountered shrubs. <br />Grassland Plant Communit <br />This vegetation type is found on those areas immediately to the west of Moffat County Road #33 <br />(Knez Divide Road). It appears that almost all Mountain Big Sagebrush was removed from this area <br />either via burning or plowing in the past and replanted to introduced dryland pasture species. There is <br />no evidence that any of these areas have ever been irrigated. The Grassland vegetation type is the <br />third largest plant community type found within the PR -7 Mine Expansion Area and covers an area <br />approximately 81.69 acres and accounts for 10.27 percent of the PR -7 Mine Expansion Area and <br />approximately 22.23 acres or 7.70 percent of the projected maximum mine disturbance area. <br />2-1220 <br />