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2.3 COVER SAMPLING <br />• Cover data were collected using a point intercept technique. At each random sample point, a 50m <br />transact was stretched from the point to a random direction. Along the transact et 2m intervals, <br />a pair of points spaced 1 m apart were projected downward (or upward for overhanging canopy); <br />for each point, the plant species, if arty, intercepted was recorded. If no plant was hit by the <br />projects point, either soil, litter, or rock interception was recorded. Percent cover by plant <br />species or sail, litter, or rock was calculated by dividing the number of hits on Bch by the total <br />number of points projected. For example, a plant species with 2 hits out the 50 points <br />projected along a particular transact, has e 4 percent cover ((2/50 )x 100), end a species <br />with 13 hits out of ten 50-point transacts has a 2.6 percent cover [ (13/(10 x 50)) x 100]. <br />in the cover date tables below, plant species with entries of 0.0 in the Average Cover column are <br />those that occured within the vegetation type but not in sufficient abundance to be encountered <br />quantitatively (i.e. ,had no hits). <br />2.4 PRODUCTION SAMPLING <br />Measurements ofabove-ground plant biomass production were made from weights of plant <br />materiel clipped from 1 square meter circular plots. These plots were located by finding the <br />random points identified on the maps as closely as possible, then pacing a random number of <br />steps (1 fo S} in a random direction. Within each production plot, sit herbaceous plants were <br />clipped et ground level, and separated by species for the major texa present; minor plants were <br />grouped by lifeform (i.e., annual forbs, annual graminoids, perennial forbs, end perennial <br />graminoids) and provenance (native or introduced). Plants clipped and separated were placed <br />in labeled paper begs end returned to the laboratory. There the/ were oven-dried et 105 <br />degrees centigrade for 29 hours end then weighed to the nearest 0.1 gm. Pleni species showing <br />0.0 Average Production in the date tables had so little biomass in the samples that the average <br />was less then 0.05 gm / sq.m. (rounded to 0.0). <br />2.5 SHRUB DENSITY SAMPLING <br />Density of shrubs (end tree saplings less than or equal to 1 inch diameter at breast height) was <br />measured in e 1 m x 50 m belt transact originating at a random point end extending in a random <br />direction. All shrubs with rent crowns emerging inside the belt transact were counted by <br />species. Along with the shrub density sampling, heights (in centimeters) typical of each shrub <br />species were noted at each sample transact. Plant species with 0.0 average density recorded in <br />the data tables are chose with average density of less then 0.05 that have been hence rounded to <br />-3- <br />