Laserfiche WebLink
<br />Hrrtrlu 1 x <br />(excerpted from ~ Fruita Mine vegetation study ~rt of 1982) <br />2.0 Methods <br />.ti•~ ii Ia~J <br />2.1 Experimental Design '~ • ~'~"~ F_:~:~ ^.;.,~,. ~i.;y <br />%cl;, p,__~ , , <br />~r .. G; i1 <br />The plant community approach was used as the basis forvegetation <br />inventory and description. Reference areas were used as a means of estab- <br />lishing reclamation success standards. <br />Quantitative data were collected at sample points randomly selected <br />in the affected and reference areas of each vegetation type. Point selection <br />was accomplished using a grid overlying the vegetation map. Grid cells were <br />30 m by 30 m for the affected area and 1 m by 1 m for the reference areas. <br />Using pairs of random numbers as Cartesian coordinates, fifty sample points <br />(maximum number required) were selected for each affected area vegetation <br />type and each reference area. Sampling of cover, production, and woody plant <br />density all occurred at the same sample sites. <br />2.2 Vegetation Type Delineation and Mapping <br />A plant ecologist conducted a reconnaissance of the entire lease <br />and affected areas and selected mapping units based upon vegetation struc- <br />ture and species dominance. Color photography was used to precisely delineate <br />the boundaries of each vegetation type on a topographic base map at a scale <br />of 1" = 1000' (1:12,000) for the affected area and a scale of 1" = 2000' <br />(1:24,000) for the lease area. Extensive field reconnaissance was employed <br />to verify the boundaries of the mapping units; lease area mapping unit <br />verification was limited due to deteriorating weather and access conditions <br />in fall 1982. <br />2.3 Selection and Location of Reference Areas <br />' A reference area was located for each affected area vegetation type. <br />Each reference area was 3 acres or more in size and located either within the <br />permit area or in adjacent areas of public lands. Factors considered in the <br />selection of reference areas included species dominance, soil type, slope, <br />aspect, current and past land uses, and apparent similarities in cover and <br />production. <br />2.4 Plant Species Collection and Identification <br />Plant species were collected during the August-September 1982 <br />sampling period, and throughout the growing season during a 1980 preliminary <br />vegetation study. For the 1982 study, specimens were.identified by field <br />