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EXHIBIT J (Cont'd) <br />Cover in this community is about 60 percent, including <br />crown cover of the shrubs. Understory cover is highly vari- <br />able depending on the effects of shade, chemical growth <br />inhibitors from shrubs, and local soil texture and chemistry. <br />The community occurs on both the Halaquepts and the Arvada <br />loam soils. Atriplex is definitely stronger on the Arvada <br />loam which is more saline than the Halaquepts. <br />B. Typha - Phragmites - Distichlis wetland - This com- <br />a munity is found in the narrow, sinuous depression that extends, <br />basically, from east to west across the middle of the site. It <br />is an exceedingly complex community that changes very dramatic- <br />ally with slight alterations in topography and soil moisture <br />content. A drop in elevation of less than six inches over per- <br />' Naps a 50-foot distance can alter the community from an almost <br />I pure stand of Desert Saltgrass that is no more than three or <br />four inches tall to an almost pure stand of the bamboo-like <br />I Phragmites communis (Reed) that can be as tall as 10 to 12 feet. <br />` As the elevation drops a few more inches, the Reed declines <br />rapidly and is replaced by Typha latifolia (Common Cattail) and <br />various other marsh plants. In this way the community changes <br />back and forth from domination by one species to domination by <br />another as the topographic configuration changes along the de- <br />pression. <br />The sides of the depression are generally occupied by Desert <br />Saltgrass, but even here, Cattails and Reeds can dominate <br />locally in response to slight changes in soil moisture content. <br />-38- <br />