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<br />1 <br />inTercepfed below the first hit was recorded separately as ether hits. <br />' Only first hits were used in calculating zbsolute cover. All vegetation <br />hits were used to calculate relative vegetation cover. <br />' 2.4 WOODY PLANT DENSITY <br /> A rectangular quadrat (belt transectl 1 m by 50 m was used for <br /> shrub density sampling and a rectangular quadrat 5 m by 50 m was <br /> employed for tree density. All individuals rooted within the respective <br /> quadrats were counted and recorded by species. Density quadrats were <br />t established along cover transects. <br /> A small number of Trees were located in the Meadow vegetation <br /> type. These were counted individually and recorded by species in lieu <br /> of density sampling. <br />' 2.5 PRODUCTION SAMPLING <br /> The above-ground herbaceous biomass was estimated in each vegetation <br /> type by clipping rectangular quadrats. A square quadrat 1 m2 in area <br />' was used in the Meadow vegetation type while a rectangular quadrat <br /> 1 m by 3 m was employed in the Pinyon-Juniper Woodland Complex. Within <br /> each quadrat, the current year's growth of herbaceous plants was clipped. <br /> Succulents and cushion plants were not clipped. Graminoids were <br /> sorted by individual species and fortis were combined into one category. <br /> The clipped maTerial was oven dried 1105oC for 24 hours( and weighed to <br /> the nearest tenth of a gram. Production was expressed in gram;, per <br />' 1 m2 and 3 m2 far the Mezdow and Pinyon-Juniper vegetation types, <br /> respectively, and in pounds per acre. <br />' <br /> 2.6 COLLECTION AND IDENTIFICATION OF PLANT SPECIES <br /> Plant species were collected and pressed during field activities <br />' in August of 1984. Specimens were identified by field ecologists <br /> conducting the study and confirmed by Dr. William A. Weber, Curator cf <br /> the Herbarium, University of Colorado. Taxonomic nomenclature and <br />' staterr:ents of origin fol lov! l4eber and Johnston 119791. Nickerson c~T al. <br /> (19761 and Beetle 119701 were consulted in an attempT To apply the most <br /> widely used common rames. Noxious weed designation.. follow Thornton <br />' et al. 11974). <br />' 2.7 SPECIES DIVERSITY <br />Species/lifeform diversity was calculated for each study area by <br />detern~ining the number of species having a relative cover exceec:ing <br />3 percent and grouping these ty lifeform. <br />1 -3- <br /> <br />