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• GOALS OF THE SENECA II-W RECLAMATION PROGRAM <br />1. Fstablish a successional stage capable of sustaining and improving over time. <br />2. Cooperate with all stakeholders, (landowners, Div. of Wildlife, Div. of Minerals & Geology, <br />OSM and environmental groups), to establish a successful reclaimed landscape. <br />3. Continuously improve the reclamation process to enhance the land and leave the land in a <br />condition equal to or better than we found it. <br />Research for Reclamation Science Advancement <br />Aspen Establishment Study <br />Dr. Wayne Shepperd (Aerearch Silviculturalirt, USFS, Rocky Mountain I~ereanh Station, Ft. Collins, CO), a <br />recognized authority on aspen regeneration and man a ment, and SCC entered into a cooperative <br />agreement to investigate aspen reestablishment through a series of sequential experiments to be <br />conducted in a test plot on reclaimed ground at Seneca II-West (see Photo 5). The objectives of this <br />experimental test plot aze to determine the feasibility of using irrigation to improve initial transplant <br />• survival, and if successful, subsequently investigate the odter questions of growth and ultimate clonal <br />reestablishment of aspen. <br />Aspen (Populuc hzmuloider Michx.) reproduces primarily by root suckering in the western U.S. <br />Although aspen produces abundant crops of viable seed, dry western climates do not provide the <br />constant moist conditions required for seed germination and first-season growth often enough to <br />result in reliable seedling establishment This problem is avoided when existing aspen clones <br />vegetatively regenerate, because the extensive pre-existing root system provides ample resources to <br />new sprouts and nurtures them for several years until new roots can develop. Transplanting <br />greenhouse or nursery-grown aspen seedlings into the field has similar problems to those of natural <br />seedlings, indicating that the small root mass of transplanted seedlings is insufficient to absorb <br />enough moisture to maintain the seedlings during periods of summer drought in the wild. In <br />contrast, transplanting sapling-sized aspen in imgated urban landscapes has not been a problem, <br />because the abundant supplies of water enable the transplants to thrive. <br />Four blocks of 50 trees each were planted in the fall of 2004 in regular topsoil and four blocks of 50 <br />trees are planted in modified topsoil containing ground vegetation. Soil type was not randomized <br />because of the difficulty of placement by large equipment Instead, regulaz and modified topsoil were <br />placed side by side on the slope and the study plots positioned over the two soils. The soils placed <br />approximately 4 feet deep over the entire study plot, were planted with the shmbs as specified in <br />Planting List 3 and broadcast seeded with Seed mix 6 (Table 3). Three watering treatments and an <br />un-watered control were randomly assigned within each topsoil type. Weed control was conducted <br />in accordance with approved mitre reclamation practices, with the exception of hand spot-spraying of <br />broadleaf weeds to avoid damage to the aspen transplants. <br />Trees to be transplanted were selected from along the edges of successfully suckering clones on <br />• Seneca property. Aspen suckers growing at the edges of existing clones are more likely to have <br />smaller, more independent roots than those that arise along older connecting roots between large <br />