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• Total Vegetative Cover: <br />Total vegetative cover will be estimated using an optical point frame developed by ESCO Associates. <br />Point sitings will be located along a 50 meter transect stretched out either northwest, northeast, <br />southwest, or southeast of the sample location (the direction was randomly selected from among the <br />four possibilities) or at a slightly different direction (e.g., NNE, etc.) when one of these directions is <br />not possible. <br />The 50 points per transect (one point at each meter interval) will comprise a single sample unit. <br />Cover will be identified by species, or as rock, litter, or bare ground. For the purposes of estimating <br />total vegetative cover, only first hit data will be used. As allowed for on page 7 of the Division's <br />Vegetation Guidelines (Guidelines for Compliance with Land Use and Vegetation Requirements of <br />the Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Board for Coal Minine, October, 1988), a height cutoff of <br />four feet will be employed in both the reclaimed and reference areas. Only hits below four feet will <br />be recorded for the purposes of determining success. <br />Total Herbaceous Production: <br />In the reclaimed and reference areas, plots will be 1/2 meter by 1/2 meter in size. All current annual <br />herbaceous production inside the production plots will be clipped, separated according to life form, <br />and bagged. The four life forms will include perennial grasses, perennial fortis, annual species, and <br />noxious weeds. Production data will not be the basis of species diversity, and therefore sorting by <br />species is unnecessary. All production samples will be oven dried at 110 degrees Fahrenheit to a <br />constant weight. <br />Species Diversity <br />For a Phase III bond release request, multiple hit data (first, second, third...) will be used to evaluate <br />species diversity success. For the purposes of a Phase II bond release request, species diversity will <br />be evaluated using only first-hit data. Because first hits generally far exceed all other vegetative hits <br />combined (especially with a herbaceous dominated vegetation), first hit data provides a sufficient <br />estimate of species diversity for the purposes of Phase II studies. <br />Woody Stem Density; <br />Because a density standard does not apply to the mine site, no woody stem sampling will be <br />necessary. <br />• 4-65i Revised June 1998 <br />~N-o3 <br />rt~ -? o <br />