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.1s. Carol Pehlke <br />:~tr. Jim Herron <br />August 5, 19$0 <br />Pane 2 <br />A reference area will not be established for the wet meadow community <br />since the extent of disturbance of this community is less than 3 percent of <br />the total planned disturbance. <br />On the mine plan area and on reference areas, sampiing will be conducted <br />within homogeneous vegetation. !~!ithin these areas, samples will be located <br />randomly. For each vegetation tyee, sample methods will be the same on <br />the mine plan and reference area. Parameters to be samp]ed are herbaceous <br />cover and productivity and vroody plant density. For each venetation <br />community sample unit (reference or disturbance area) the intent will be <br />to sample eaci~~ pararieter within i0 percent of the actual mean value with <br />80 percent statistical confidence. <br />For comparisons between reference and disturbance areas, a one-tailed t <br />test will be used. The hypothesis to be tested is that vegetation <br />abundance on the reference area is equal to or greater than that on the <br />mine plan area. The alternative hypothesis would be that vegetation abundance <br />is less on the reference area. This hypothesis will be tested at the <br />o = .05 level. If vegetation abundance on the reference area is greater <br />• than on the mine plan area, no statistical testing vrill be required. <br />Quadrats 5 x 25m in size will be used to sample herbaceous cover and <br />vroody plant density in the aspen and oak brush types. Two by twenty-five <br />meter quadrats will be used in the mountain shrub type. Apoint-frequency <br />frame will be used to measure canop;~ cover of herbaceous vegetation. Species <br />will be recorded when the pin contacts vegetation. Each quadrat will <br />constitute one sample and tyre intent will be to sample enough quadrats to meet <br />the statistical requirements. <br />Productivity sample locations will be chosen independently from quadrat <br />samples. Plots will be one meter square and all herbaceous vegetation wilt be <br />clipped. Dominant species will be listed separately and subordinate <br />species will be grouped by life-form. Equal numbers of plots will be clipped <br />on the mine plan area and the reference areas, as fol]ows: aspen and oak' <br />brush, 25 plots; mountain shrub vegetation, 30 plots. Fewer plots may <br />be clipped if statistical requirements are satisfied with less data. <br />To date, no grazing control has been undertaken at the mine. On our tour <br />of the mine on June 16, 1980, there were very few signs of grazing. This <br />week I have been reconnoitering the property and this is still the case. I <br />feel grazing has had little impact on vegetation standing crop and therefore <br />will contribute little to variability of clipping data. <br />I proposed an alternative method for considering comparisons between <br />reference and disturbance areas. This would utilize a regression technique <br />