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EXHIBIT J (Cont'd) <br />if that formation exhibited small pockets of unusually alkaline saline rock. <br />' It is therefore assumed that the distribution of this stand type is strongly <br />controlled by geological conditions and exhibits strongly alkaline and saline so'_ls. <br />This stand type is of interest because of its curious nature and no+, because it <br />it common. In a reclamation sense, the type is so small, even if the soil <br />' supporting it were salvaged, it xould have no measurable influence on the eventual <br />revegetation. This soil is of infinitesimal quantity xhen compared to all the <br />other salvageable soils. Therefore, even though the presence of the species <br />' indicates alY.aline~saline conditions, its occurrence is more of a biological <br />curiosity than indicative of a reclamation hazard. <br />' D. Bromus-A~ropvron-Allvsum Stand Type: <br />In highly localized areas where moderate disturbances have occurred the land is <br />' vegetated by a stand type composed chiefly of xeedy species dominated by <br />Bromus tectorum (Cheatgrass) and Allvsum allvsoides. Mixed in is a relatively <br />' large amount of Crested Wheatgrass that was probably planted to help stabilize <br />and return the productivity of the land to some semblance of utility as grazing <br />' land. These areas generally are found in bottomland sites but can also be found <br />in small patches elsewhere. There does not appear to be anything particularly <br />distinctive about the soil other than it tends to be on the heavy side, may or <br />' may not contain gravels and sands, and always exhibits a highly undeveloped prof:.le <br />structure that, in this Brea and on these sites, cannot be attributed to anything <br />but moderate disturbance that overturned and mixed the soils. <br />' Hilltop Grassland- <br />The Valley Plain Grassland intergrades elevationally xith the Hilltop <br />' Grassland. The demarcation line betxeen the txo is very broad and ill-defined. <br />Cne of the best indicators is Artemisia filifolia which tends to increase greatly <br />as the hillcrest is approached. bccept on relatively steep slopes of which there <br />t are few on this site, the ecotone betxeen the txo communities is very broad. <br />Vegetation cover ranges from 3096 to 50,E with a fex tiny areas of about 20,$ <br />' cover, on the lox side, and &0~ to 90~ on the high side. <br />Generally, the vegetation is much less differentiated than the Valley Plain <br />' Grassland. On the whole, this general uniformity is due to a greatly reduced <br />variability in the soils. Whereas the Valley Plain soils range from clay to clay <br />' loam with a gravelly surface, the soils that support the Hilltop Grassland do not <br />show evidence of enough clay to cause any shrink-swell phenomena (e.g. large cracks, <br />extreme hardness, etc.) as is commonly found in the Valley Plain Grassland. <br />' 42 <br />