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minimum of 15 transects or to adequacy as necessary. Technical standards are not subject to sample <br /> adequacy. Noxious weed species were omitted as they may not contribute to the reclamation success. <br /> In accordance with Rule 3.03.1(3)(b)and Section III.A.7.a, of the Division's 1995 Guideline Regarding <br /> Selected Coal Mine Bond Release Issues, SPL provided a sediment demonstration to demonstrate that <br /> runoff from the reclaimed parcels results in equivalent or lesser sediment contributions as compared to <br /> baseline conditions at the mine. SPL used the RUSLE (Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation), to <br /> compare sediment contribution from bond release parcels and reference areas. The RUSLE provides <br /> a basis for predicting the gross erosion per acre from an area on an annual basis. <br /> Phase III Bond Release <br /> Vegetation Production <br /> Herbaceous production was measured by placing randomly located half meter circular plots along each cover <br /> transect. A minimum of 32 production plots were sampled. The plots were clipped by life forms as follows: <br /> Native Annual/Biennial Forbs Introduced Annual/Biennial Forbs <br /> Native Annual Grasses Introduced Annual Grasses <br /> Native Perennial Forbs Introduced Perennial Forbs <br /> Native Perennial Grasses and Graminoids Introduced Perennial Grasses <br /> Lichens,mosses,noxious weeds and shrub production were not clipped. Following clipping,the harvested <br /> plant material was oven dried and weighed to determine average production for the bond release blocks. For <br /> success,mean total allowable cover and/or mean allowable production must be greater than 90%of the <br /> reference area derived standard as per rule (Rule 4.15.11(2)(a)). The reverse null hypothesis is utilized <br /> should sample adequacy not be met,and a t test is employed should cover and/or production not achieve the <br /> 90%standard. <br /> Woody Plant Density <br /> Woody plant density sampling took place in the bond release block but not in the reference areas. A <br /> minimum of 30 samples along 50 in transects was required. All shrubs and subshrubs with root crowns <br /> located within the boundaries of 2 X 50 in quadrats(belt transects),were tallied according to species and life <br /> stage as either seedling,mature,or dead. The presence of dead individuals was recorded but did not <br /> contribute to woody plant density calculations. <br /> Woody plant density establishment is demonstrated by meeting the mandatory and secondary standards as <br /> follows: <br /> o Background density must be greater than or equal to 200 stems/acre on 100%of unfenced reclaimed <br /> land(mandatory standardl). <br /> o With at least 10%of unfenced acreage possessing more than 1000 stems/acre(mandatory standard2). <br /> o Fenced woody plant areas of upland sites must exceed 945 stems/acre(mandatory standardl). <br /> o Fenced and unfenced woody plant areas identified as riparian areas must exceed 945 stems/acre with <br /> 150 stems comprising tree or tall shrub species(mandatory standard2). <br /> Species Diversity <br /> In conjunction with cover sampling, species occurring within one meter of either side of the sample <br /> transect were recorded. Frequency of species observed is determined by dividing the number of transects <br /> where the species was observed by total samples. <br /> Permit Number C1982057 Prepared by: R.Reilley MS,GISP <br /> SL6 Phase II and III Page 7 of 16 <br />