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,. <br />2.0 Methods. . <br />2.5 Cover Sampling. . <br />Absolute vegetation cover was calculated twice: once with first-hit <br />data and a second time with all-hit data. All-hit cover data portray the <br />total herbaceous cover regardless of overhanging woody plant cover. Con- <br />stancy, or the percentage of occurrence of a species among the sampled stands, <br />was calculated by dividing the number of transects along which the species <br />.occurred by the total number of transects sampled. It shoutd be noted that <br />~~ "P" values were included with hit data in the constancy calculations. <br />2.6 Woody Plant Density Sampling. . <br />A quadrat system was used for sampling woody plant density. A <br />rectangular quadrat (belt-transect) 1 m by 50 m was used for shrubs, while a <br />rectangular quadrat 5 m by 50 m was used for trees. The quadrats were <br />oriented along the cover transects. <br />The number of individual shrubs or trees rooted within the <br />sampling quadrat was recorded by species and totaled by quadrat. Density <br />was expressed in the data tables as the number of shrubs or trees per quadrat <br />and the number of shrubs or trees per acre and per hectare. <br />2.7 Production Sampling <br />The above-ground plant biomass was estimated in each affected area <br />vegetation type and corresponding reference area by clipping rectangular <br />quadrats. Production quadrat size varied between vegetation types. A <br />rectangular quadrat 1 m by 5 m was used in the Juniper Woodland and Gardner <br />Saltbush types, while quadrats 1 m by 3 m were employed in ail other vegeta- <br />tion types. These large size quadrats were those specified in agreements <br />with CMLR personnel prior to beginning the quantitative data collection. <br />Within each quadrat, the current year's growth of herbaceous plants <br />was clipped. Succulents, cushion plants, and woody plants were not clipped. <br />Graminoids were sorted by individual species; fortis were sorted into annual <br />or perennial forb categories, or by species if they had a significant cover. <br />The clipped material was oven dried (105oC for 24 hours) and weighed to the <br />nearest tenth of a gram. Production was expressed in grams per 3 m2 or 5 m2, <br />pounds per acre, and kilograms per hectare. <br />^ <br />