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<br /> <br />In contrast, Case 4 is an example of two areas with few components in <br />common but with the common components having very similar quantitative values. <br />This is analogous to the situation of communities with the same dominant species <br />but different arrays of accompanying species. The similarity between communities <br />is relatively high in this case (81%). <br />Calculation of Similarity between Affected Areas and Reference Areas at the <br />Mt. Gunnison Mine Site <br />The degree of similarity that can be expected between a reclaimed area <br />and a reference area can be inferred during the baseline inventory from a <br />comparison of the area to be affected and the reference area. <br />Vegetation attributes were sampled in the summer of 1980 at ARCO Coal <br />Company's Mt. Gunnison #1 Mine near Paonia, Colorado. Two vegetation types <br />that will be disturbed by mining were surveyed; the Dry Meadow community and <br />the Wet Mixed Shrub community. Reference areas were established for these <br />two vegetation types. <br />Estimates of mean cover were made for species found in the affected and <br />reference areas for each type. Production estimates were made in gms/m2 for <br />the major growth-forms encountered. <br />The similarity between the affected and reference areas of the Dry <br />Meadow Community was 69% for species cover, 87% for growth-form cover, and <br />89% for growth-form production (Tables 2, 3, 4). <br />The similarity between the affected and reference areas of the Wet <br />Mixed Shrub Community was 68% for species cover, 83% for growth-form cover, <br />and 88% for growth-form production (Tables 5, 6, 7). A comparison at the <br />species level of shrub importance values in this community yielded a similarity <br />of 87% between the affected and reference areas (Table 8). <br /> <br />