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RESULTS <br />A listing of the plant species encountered during the 1997 sampling efforts is Contained <br />in Table 1, Plant Species List. This list contains 49 plant species which were encountered <br />during the 1997 cover and production sampling efforts. This compares with a total of 31 <br />species in the 1991 monitoring and 22 species which were encountered in the 1969 <br />monitoring efforts. Since the identical sampling intensity was utilized both years, these <br />species counts suggest that species diversity on the reclaimed areas has increased since <br />the 1997 monitoring effort. <br />1983 RECLAMATION SEEDING <br />Cover. A total of five transects were taken to evaluate plant cover for both the 1983 <br />Reclamation Seeding. Sample adequacy at the 90 percent confidence interval was found <br />to equal 3.99 transects for this area. Since the required level of samples were taken to <br />evaluate plant cover on this site, these data suggest that sufficient samples were taken <br />to characterize the oldest reclaimed areas to a very high degree of accuracy. <br />Total plant cover from the 1983 Reclamation Seeding was determined to equal 41.40 <br />percent (Table 2, Plant Cover, Species Composition and Frequency of 1983 Reclamation <br />Seeding). In 1991, the cover of this site was determined to equal 40.8 percent while in <br />1989, a total of 30.2 percent plant cover was found on this site. In 1987, the total plant <br />cover on this site was determined to be 49.8 percent. These data suggest that total plant <br />cover on this site has increased since 1989, probably as a result of maturing of the stand <br />and differences in growing season conditions. <br />Grasses dominated the seeded stand in 1997 contributing 74.88 percent of the total plant <br />cover. This compares with a grass composition of 95.12 percent in 1991, and 98.01 <br />percent from the 1989 sampling and 49.8 percent from the 1987 sampling of this site. <br />These data suggest that the composition of grasses on this site appears to have <br />decreasing, suggesting that the site is reaching more of a balance with respect to plant <br />life forms on this reclaimed site. <br />Western wheatgrass, Blue Grama and Sideoats Grama were the dominate plants <br />encountered in the 1997 sampling, contributing 25.12, 14.98 and 14.98 percent, <br />respectively of the total plant cover found on this site. In 1991 the dominate plants were <br />found to be Western Wheatgrass, Blue Grama and Intermediate Wheatgrass accounting <br />for 49.22, 18.34 and 11.04 percent, respectively of the cover. In 1989, the three dominate <br />plants growing on this site were Intermediate Wheatgrass, Crested Wheatgrass and <br />Western Wheatgrass, which accounted for 27.81, 25.83 and 20.54 percent, respectively <br />of the total plant cover growing on this site. In 1987, the three dominate plants growing <br />on this site were determined to be Cheatgrass, Intermediate Wheatgrass, and Crested <br />Wheatgrass, which accounted for 30.12, 25.30 and 18.47 percent, respectively of the total <br />plant cover found on this site <br />3 <br />