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<br />A portion of the mine area within the proposed permit area is <br />already in the reclamation and revegetation phase. Further <br />disturbance to natural azeas in the proposed permit area will be <br />nominal. Because there was no premise vegetation information <br />collected, it is not possible to accurately describe the premine <br />plant communities in terms of specific values for plant cover, <br />production, composition, species diversity, woody plant density, or <br />condition and tread as requested under Rule 2.04.10 (4). <br />Consequently, it is is~poasible to demonstrate statistically that any <br />particular reference area is comparable to the premine vegetation, <br />in terms of the above-mentioned plant community parameters, as <br />required by Rule 4.15.7(3)(a), (b). <br />u <br />In view of these limitations, undisturbed plant communities <br />within the proposed permit area assumed to be similar to those <br />disturbed by mining were sampled during the 1980 field season. Four <br />vegetation types already disturbed by mining were identified on the <br />basis of the visually dominant perennial species using photographic <br />diagnostic features (Avery, 1968) and ground reconnaissance data. A <br />description of the vegetation types and the methods used to collect <br />field data is presented below. <br />Methods <br />Mapping of the vegetation types was accomplished using color <br />• infrared and black and white vertical aerial photographs supported <br />by field observations. Stereoscopic coverage was available in the <br />2.04-73 <br />