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Cover. Plant cover was estimated using an inclined metal ten point frame, with transacts <br />measuring 50 meters in length placed randomly throughout the area to be sampled. <br />Transact orientation at each sample point was determined using a hand held calculator <br />generating random numbers that were assigned to the major compass headings. The <br />intervals between transacts was determined using random numbers generated from the <br />calculator. Once this point had been identified, a 50-meter long transact tape was laid out. <br />Along each transact, 100 data points were collected at ten randomly obtained intervals, <br />then averaged into a single datum for purposes of statistical evaluation. <br />Plant cover was identified to the species level and recorded onto field data forms. Litter, <br />bare ground, lichens, and rock were also recorded during the cover sampling. Litter was <br />defined as that plant material that had been dead for at least one year prio"r to sampling. <br />Plant material that had dried prior to sampling, but was a product of the 1997 growing <br />season (dried annual plants produced during the 1997 growing season, such as <br />cheatgrass), was counted as live plant cover. A total of five transacts were sampled for <br />each reclaimed area sampled. <br />Production. Total forage production was estimated by clipping at ground level, all plants <br />growing within a one quarter meter circular plot. Between three and five plots were <br />sampled at random intervals along the cover transact line. Clipped material from each <br />sample point was obtained for each species, then separated into major life forms; <br />perennial or annual grasses, perennial or annual forbs, and shrubs or data analysis. <br />Clipped plants were placed into labeled paper sacks. No production from woody plants <br />was encountered during the sample process. Following field clipping, the production <br />samples were sent to the laboratory where they were placed in a drying oven for 24 hours <br />at a temperature of 100 degrees C, then the samples were weighed to the nearest tenth <br />of a gram using an electronic balance. Production estimates in this report are reported <br />both in grams per quarter square meter and in pounds per acre. <br />Successfulness of Revegetation Efforts. As outlined in the approved reclamation <br />monitoring plan, found on pages 2.05.4-26R to 2.05.4-27a of the Southfield Mine Permit, <br />all reclaimed areas sampled during the 1997 monitoring effort were compared to the <br />previous monitoring efforts on these same areas conducted in 1987,1989 and 1991 as <br />well as data collected from the Grassland Reference Area, which is the ultimate standard <br />for determining revegetation success of these sites. <br />Evaluation of the Southfield Mine Permit reveals that the revegetation success standards <br />for plant cover, production, and species diversity are to be made on the basis of a <br />comparison of these parameters sampled from the reclaimed site and the corresponding <br />reference area, using the 90 percent confidence interval standard. Since the standard for <br />shrub density is based on actual plant counts, 6 trees and 15 shrubs on the 2.75 acre <br />refuse site, this parameter was not sampled in this evaluation. Species diversity is set, <br />such that the four dominate plant species will not comprise any more than 80 percent <br />composition of the total cover. <br />2 <br />