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at the fenced planting site at the II-W mine. All cuttings were presumed to be from the <br />same genetic clone since they were collected from the same area. Trees were planted <br />in eight blocks consisting of five rows of ten trees, (50 trees total) spaced on a 1.5 m x <br />1.5 m grid (Figure 2). <br />Soils used in the study were 1) Roto-cleared topsoil that had the original vegetation <br />on the site chopped and mixed into the top 4 inches of topsoil prior to removal and <br />replacement on the planting site; and 2) dozer cleared soils had all above-ground <br />vegetation bladed aside for disposal prior to removal and replacement on the planting <br />site. The dozer cleared soil used in this study had been stored for a few months, as <br />indications of decay were present and fewer weeds grew in this soil. We refer to the <br />roto-cleared soil in this report as 'fresh' soil and the dozer-cleared soils as 'stored' soil. <br />Both soil types were from aspen stands, contained aspen roots and were placed to a <br />depth of approximately 1 m on the planting site. The soils were spread by scraper in the <br />late summer of 2003, and were final graded in May/June of 2004, prior to aspen <br />planting in October, 2004. Four blocks of 50 aspen trees each were transplanted in <br />each topsoil type. <br />Water was delivered during the 2005 and 2006 growing seasons by drip irrigation <br />to the transplanted aspen saplings via acomputer-controlled system that timed the daily <br />application of water through calibrated emitters. The four water treatments (high, <br />medium, low, non-irrigated control) were randomly assigned to one of the four blocks in <br />each of the two soil types, with all 50 trees in each block receiving the same amount of <br />water (Figure 2). Trees were watered using a gravity fed drip system, supplied by a <br />2000 gallon tank located more than 200 vertical feet upslope from the test site that <br />provided an adequate head to maintain water pressure greater than 60 lbs. The water <br />tank was filled by Seneca Coal Company workers as needed, generally once or twice a <br />week. <br />Source of irrigation water was a sedimentation pond lower in the reclaimed <br />watershed during 2005 and for most of the 2006 season (July -Sept). During the 2005 <br />growing season drippers delivered water at 1 gallon/minute, and were programmed to <br />deliver water daily at 1.3, 0.6, and 0.3 gal/day/tree for the high, medium, and low <br />irrigation levels; equivalent to 14.4, 7.2, and 3.6 inches of precipitation per month. The <br />7 <br />