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\• <br />`• <br />~ • <br />The upland sagebrush reference area comprises approximately 4.8 acres <br />south of the study site (Map 1, Appendix A). Only 16 species were <br />encountered in this type; haaever, no one species was dominant as <br />evidenced by rover data. Total vegetative basal cover was 14.7%. The <br />grass stratum and forb stratum accounted for 6.2 and 7.7% total basal <br />cover, respectively; the shrub stratum contributed 0.8%. The rema~n;ng <br />ground cover comprised by litter-rock was 50.0% and that of bare ground <br />was 21%. Big sagebrush accounted for less than half of the total <br />shrub basal mover (rubber rabbitbrush accounted for the rest) but <br />comprised 85% of the total shrub canopy cover. Herbaceous species <br />evidencing high basal cover were comton yarma (1.2% basal cover), <br />Pacific aster (1.0%), milkvetch (Astragalus sp., 1.0%), and comnnn <br />dandelion (Taraxacum officinale, 1.5%). The mist frequently encountered <br />species in cover quadrats were big sagebrush (53.3% frequency), ca_mnn <br />dandelion (600), oomcron yarrow (46.7%), Pacific aster (40%) and milkvetch <br />(40%) . <br />Total vegetative production at the upland sagebrush control site was <br />711.6 lbslacre, approximately 36% lacer than production on the affected <br />area. The shrub stratum accounted for 53.7% of the total production <br />while the grass and forb strata contributed 20.5 and 25.7%, respectively. <br />Biq sagebrush evidenced the highest production, 361.5 lbs/acre or 50.8% <br />of the total vegetation production. Other species shaaing high produc- <br />tion on the site were arrowleaf balsamroot (54.1 lbs/acre), milkvetch <br />(37.8 lbs/acre) and Pacific aster (46.8 lbs/acre). Average irnisture <br />content was 46.5% for grasses and 51.7% for forbs. <br />Both total production and total basal cover were less on the upland <br />sagebrush control plot than on the upland sagebrush affected area. <br />Although [rare species were encountered in the sagebrush affected areas, <br />(perhaps reflective of the increased samaling effort in the affected <br />area), species diversity indices for the two sites cuere similar. The <br />most dominant species in both areas, Basin big sagebrush, showed alimst <br />identical relative percent canopy cover and total production in both <br />the affected and control areas. Accordingly, the upland sagebrush <br />-61- <br />