PERMFILE110125 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Section 779.19 (b) Continued. of this difference, the reference area better represents the po- tential for this vegetation type, and thus, will be used in deter- mining the success of revegetation. Soil properties important to vegetative growth include depth to bedrock or restrictive layers, texture (including type of clay), structure, consistence, reaction, permeability, drainage, salts, stoniness, available water capacity, infiltration rate, organic matter content, and percent coarse fragments. Many of the above properties are directly or indirectly related to soil texture, especially with the montmorillonitic type clays present at the mine site. Therefore, soil vegetation correlations can be demonstrated, to a great extent, on soil texture. This correlation is documented in a study done in the Kerr General Area by Robertson, et. al. (1966) which demonstrated that the Sagebrush- grass vegetation type was associated with deep, sandy clay loam to clay loam textured soils, which produced 974 lbs. per acre, while the Alkali Sagebrush vegetation type was associated with a shallow sandy clay loam to clay textured soils that produced 510 lbs, per acre, Soils in the Kerr Mine Area appear to be closely related to several vegetation types. The Gelkie and Morset soils, which support the Sagebrush-grass vegetation type, are deep, dark sandy clay loam textured soils indicated by the tall sagebrush (32 cm) and the dense understory. Total production is 680 lbs. per acre and total plant cover is 40X for the Sagebrush-grass vegetation type. The Fluetsch series, which supports the Sagebrush-gravel vegetation type, has a deep, light-colored sandy clay loam textured soil. Sagebrush plants are lower in height (19 cm) and the understory 1s more sparse. Total production is 558 lbs. per acre and total plant cover is 34X for the Sagebrush-gravel vegetation type. The soils 779-74