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• 1970's when mining activities moved into the southern Wedge mining area of the Seneca I I Mine. <br />This moy underlie contr~ts observed in the saver date. Total vegetation cover in the references <br />area was 88.0 ~, comparetl to 64.6 ~ cn the afierted area. The tlistrtbutcon of cover by <br />liteform showed some differences also. Cover by perennial graminoids m the reference area <br />substantially exceeds the corresponding values in the study area, while the opposite prevails for <br />shrub cover date. Perennial forb cover however, was very closely compareblefor the reference <br />and study areas. Perennial greminoid cover in the reference area totaled 46.6 ~ cover, <br />compared to 15.8 cover in the study area. The reference area greminoid cover was dominated <br />by sheep fescue (Festuca ovine, 16.3 ~ cover), Kentucky bluegrass (14.0 ~ rover), end <br />slender wheatgrass (10.3 ~ cover). In the study area, by comparison, Kentucky bluegrass was <br />the only major contributor to greminoid Grover in the study area; slender wheatgrass had only a <br />minor presence end sheep fe~ue was rarely encountered. Reference area shrub cover totaled <br />23.4 ~, mostly comprised of mountain snowberry (9.1 ~ cover), mountain big sagebrush <br />(Artemisie tridentate ssp. vesevana,6.6 R cover), and basin big sagebrush (Artemisie <br />tridentate ssp. tridentate, 4.6 ~ cover). Perennial forb cover in the reference area ,totaling <br />17.8 ~ cover, had five major components, one-flower helianthelte (6.0$ cover), Pacific ester <br />• (P,ster chilensis, 5.1 ~ cover), timber milkvetch (2.3 ~ cover), arrowleaf balsamrogt (1.1 <br />S€ cover), and American vetch (1.118 cover). Reflecting the relatively indisturbed nature of <br />the reference area, the annual end biennial forb cover was a nearly negligible 0.6 ~. <br />Herbaceous production totaled 153.8 gm / sq.m. (1370 lb /acre) in the Sagebrush reference <br />area, about 24 ~ greater than the study area total. This difference is modest considering the <br />much more extensive greminoid cover in the reference area. Again, in compering the reference <br />and study areas, it is interesting that Kentucky bluegrass had more percent foliar cover in the <br />reference area but had less production. Major contributors to the reference area greminoid <br />production of 96.5 gm / sq.m. were sheep fescue (46.4 gm / sq.m.), Yentucky bluegrass (28.3 <br />gm / sq.m.), entl slentler wheatgrass (15.6 Om / sq.m.). Although the graminoltl cover to the <br />reference area is quite extensive compared to the study area, the production data suggest that <br />interspecific competition between plants is severe enough to depress the productivity of <br />individual greminoid species. Perennial forb production in the Sagebrush reference area totaled <br />55.2 gm / sq.m.; the dominant individual species in the data was one-flower helianthella (25.1 <br />gm / sq.m. ). Shrub density in the reference area averaged 67.6 stems / 50 sq.m. (5472 stems <br />/acre), most of which was mountain snowberry (23.3 stems / 50 sq.m.), basin big sagebrush <br />. (15.9 stems / 50 sq.m.), and mountain big sagebrush (14.6 stems / 50 sq.m.). <br />-23- <br />