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Graminoids were nearly evenly split in seasonality with four cool season species and <br />three warm season species. All forb species were identified as cool season. The <br />succulent shrub and suffrutescent shrub and tree species were all evergreen. <br />A significant cryptogamic crust was observed within the reference area, accounting for <br />' 3.340 ground cover. The cryptogams were nearly evenly split between mosses and <br />foliose and crustose lichens. Not all lichens were confined to rocks. <br />Vegetative litter (prior years growth, dead wood, and other biologic organic material) <br />comprised 16.8% ground cover within the reference area. Rock accounted for 8.2% <br />ground cover, in the form of various sized parent material as well as outcroppings of <br />' sandstone. Bare soil comprised 49.0% of the ground cover encountered in the <br />reference area. <br />' <br /> AREA 1 <br /> Area ]encompasses approximately 105 acres of reclaimed mining area and undisturbed <br /> native vegetation at the eastern boundary of the New Horizon Mine 1 area. <br /> Approximately 50 acres of Area 1 were disturbed and reclaimed. Area I is composed <br /> of three generally southwest sloping knolls and the intervening drainages. Area 1 <br /> slopes are gentle on top of the knolls (0.5-7 degrees) and steeper on the sides of the <br />' knoll (up to 20 degrees). Reclamation and coincident revegetation within Area 1 took <br /> place over at least twelve years (1978-1990) in the areas sampled (see Exhibit 2, <br /> Chronological History of Revegetation Activities, New Horizon Permit document). <br />' Replaced soils were generally silty to silty loam in texture, with few rocks, compared <br /> to the reference area. Revegetated areas varied to a minor extent, based on seeding <br /> date, degree of development and other factors, but were all visually dominated by <br />' graminoid species. Undisturbed areas adjacent to the revegetated areas largely <br /> resembled the reference azea. Specific sampling information for Area I is contained in <br /> Table 3. <br />' Five lifeform classes were represented within Area 1; graminoids, forbs, shrubs, <br /> suffrutescent shrubs, and cryptogams. Total vegetation cover of the Area 1 was 18.6% <br /> (excluding cryptogams). cryptogams accounted for 0.2% cover, litter 19.8% cover, <br /> rock 2.2% cover, and bare areas 45.7% cover. Based on cover sampling, graminoids <br /> represented 10.2% mean cover, forbs accounted for 6.446 mean cover, and shrubs and <br />' suffrutescent shrubs 2.0% mean cover. <br />' The dominant grass species was .4boropyron cristatum (Crested Wheatgrass) at 4.046 <br /> mean cover (21.5% relative cover). Subdominant species included Agropyron smithii <br /> (Western Wheatgrass), Agropyron trachycau/um (Slender Wheatgtass), and Bromus <br />' tectorum (Cheatgrass), each accounting for 1.4% mean cover and 7.5% relative cover, <br /> and E/ymus junceus (Russian Wildrye) at 1.2% mean cover and 6.5% relative cover. <br /> With the exception of Bromus tectorum, all of the dominant and subdominant grasses <br />' are perennial cool-season reclamation grasses, each accounting for more than 340 <br /> relative cover in Area 1. <br />I 8 <br />