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EXHIBIT J (Cont'd) <br />III. Transitional or Ecotonal Communities <br />A. Chrysothamnus stand (map unit CTs) <br />B. Salix stands (map unit Ss) <br />The following are descriptions of each type of vegetation. <br />Natural Communities. <br />A. Artemisia - Atriplex dryland - this community is very <br />sparsely represented on the site, although it was no doubt <br />the dominant community prior to the time when any cultivation <br />occurred. The community is identified visually by an abundance <br />of Artemisia tridentata (Sagebrush), many of which may be in <br />excess of six feet in height. hfixed in with the Sagebrush are <br />various amounts of Atriplex canescens, (Four-wing Saltbush). <br />Understory species include a number of grasses including <br />Agropyron smithii (Western Wheatgrass) grama grasses (Bouteloua <br />sp.), Distichlis stricta (Desert Saltgrass), and various forbs. <br />The numerical relationships between the Artemisia and the <br />Atriplex as well as the composition of the understory tend to <br />be strongly related to the chemistry of the soil. The more <br />saline and alkaline the soil, the more Atriplex and Distichlis <br />dominate the particular stand. Strongly alkaline and/or saline <br />soils produce almost pure stands of these species with Artemisia <br />occurring in very low quantity. <br />On this site, the few areas where this community is found <br />are dominated by Artemisia and less saline-tolerant under- <br />story species. The presence of Atriplex certainly indicates <br />some alkaline and saline conditions, but apparently it is not <br />severe enough to limit the Artemisia. <br />-37- <br />