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l <br /> <br /> <br />56 <br />the sail nitrogen supply. On treatments receiving nitrogen fertilizer, the • <br />material now in its fourth year following application is probably starting to <br />be leached of nitrogen down and away from the plants due to the coarse nature <br />of the spoils (Table 1). With a small legume component on these nitrogen <br />added sites, due to inhabition during the establishment period, there is now <br />less total nitrogen available to the grasses for their growth. Hence, this <br />extra nitrogen source on Treatment 2 favors the growth of seven grass species; <br />in particular intermediate and western wheatgrasses produce at a rate approxi- <br />mately double that found on the Main Plot as a whole (Table 14). <br />Highest combined seeded and invading density was on Treatment 3 <br />(Figure 12). Density of invading fortis was extremely high compared to other <br />treatments, but the biomass of'these was relatively low. Examination of the <br />data showed Treatment 3, Replication 3, to have a very high density of kochia <br />seedlings in one of its quadrats (880 plants/mz). These results suggest that • <br />a mature kochia plant, laden with seed, may have blown into the plot sometime ~ <br />between fall 7979 and spring 1980. Given the localized nature of this occur- <br />rence it appears that Treatment 3's density level is actually much closer to <br />that found in other treatments. <br />Seeded grasses occurred at a significantly higher density on mulched ~ <br />treatments versus those unrt;ulched; thus. ;chile mulching does not increas9 ol;nt <br />vigor, it does suggest the benefit of this material to aid plant establishment. <br />One word of caution: by favoring the establishment of grasses one runs •_^~ <br />risk of eliminating what few shrubs might have grown due to an inaaility 'u <br />compete with the rapidly growing grasses (Figures 10-12). The result is a <br />less diverse plant community. <br />A final comment on the performance of the Main Plot treatments warrants <br />mentioning. Considering the data in Figures 10-12, there are approximately • <br />