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Table 3 -Woody stem density (in stems/acre): <br />Reclaimed area versus technical standard <br />2002 2003 <br />Required minimum <br />(90% of technical 540 540 <br />standard) <br />Sample result 6372 4547 <br />Live cover exceeded the 27% minimum requirement in 2002 (30.3%) and 2003 (33.9%). <br />Rubber rabbit brush was the dominant plant species. Crested wheatgrass and Indian ricegrass <br />provided additional significant cover. Production exceeded the minimum requirement of 455 <br />pounds per acre in 2002 (2121 pounds per acre) and in 2003 (1906 pounds per acre). <br />Woody shrub density exceeded the minimum requirement of 540 stems per acre in 2002 <br />(6,372 stems per acre) and in 2003 (4547 stems per acre). <br />Using the observed cover values in the Universal Soil Loss Equation, the calculated soil loss <br />rate is 0.5 tons/acre/yeaz, calculated as: 40R X 0.30K X 3.O~s X 0.014c X O1.OP = 0.5 <br />tons/acre/year. The USLE is the product of the following five factors: rainfall-runoff (R), <br />soil erodibility (K), slope-length-steepness (LS), cover-management (C), and erosion control <br />practice (P). The calculated soil loss rate of 0.5 tons/acre/yeaz is a moderate soil loss rate for <br />steep-sloped rangeland in southwest Colorado, and indicates the cover is adequate for erosion <br />control. <br />Although there was no species diversity standazd on the reclaimed land, 10 different species <br />were found in 2002 and 11 different species were found in 2003. Approximately half the <br />species were native. The following life forms were found. <br />Table 4 -Number of species by life form <br />Life form 2002 2003 <br />Grasses 5 <br /> 5 <br />Forbs 0 4 <br />Shrubs 5 2 <br />7 <br />