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<br /> <br />Woody Plnttt Establisltment Program <br />' Seneca II Mine <br />Throughout the western United States, surface mine operators face a <br />' tough challenge--establishing woody plants on reclaimed lands. The reclamation <br />specialists at Seneca Mine in northwestern Colorado have developed a program <br />to enhance seedling survival and increase the native shrub composition in the <br />' reclaimed plant community. Anyone attempting to replant native trees and <br />shrubs will benefit from the research and success of this program at Seneca. The <br />woody plant program at Seneca consists of three basic processes--direct hauling <br />' topsoil, drill seeding of shrub species and transplanting of seedlings. <br />Direct hauling topsoil <br /> During direct hauling, topsoil is stripped ahead of mining with scrapers <br /> and placed directly on graded spoil behind the pit. This process insures that the <br />' viable seed and roots of native plants are transported quickly to the reclaimed <br /> site. The native, woody plants have established beneficial associations with soil <br /> microbes, including fungi and bacteria. Plant establishment and survival are <br />' enhanced by reestablishing these associations in reclaimed soils. Mountain <br /> snowberry, Big sagebrush and critical soil microbial populations have established <br />' in the reclaimed soil from direct hauled topsoil. In addition to direct hauled <br /> topsoil, Seneca also transplants large clumps or islands of native shrubs using a <br /> front-end loader. Seneca operators maximize the use of these economical <br />' methods for shrub establishment. Direct hauled topsoil helps establish those <br /> species that root-start readily, however, the more competition sensitive species <br /> like Gambel oak and Serviceberry need more intensive management to survive. <br />' For these plants, Peabody Western mine and division level reclamation specialists <br /> developed a direct seeding and seedling transplant program. <br />1 <br />1 <br />1 <br />1 <br />1 <br /> <br />Drill seedin>= of shrub suecies <br />In order to drill seed shrub species or plant seedlings, reclamation <br />personnel locate favorable micro-sites for future shrub communities. They select <br />low lying bowls or north facing slopes for intensive shrub species revegetation. <br />In these micro-sites the specialists decide which of the two methods to employ, <br />direct seeding or seedling transplanting. Selected shrub seeding sites in the <br />reclaimed area are drill seeded exclusively, (i.e. no herbaceous species are <br />planted), using a rangeland drill, with the following shrub mix: <br />LBS. pure live seed per acre <br />Amelancliier anifolia, Serviceberry <br />Prunis vir.iniana, Chokecherry <br />(continued) <br />1 <br />