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• The big sagebrush permit area in 1980 had a total annual <br />herbaceous production of 266.5 lbs/acre while the reference area <br />had a total production of 342.9 lbs/acre. Forb production (annuals <br />and perennials} were much higher in 1980 than 1979. Forb product- <br />ion in the permit area was 76.8 lbs/acre and 66.3 lbs/acre in the <br />reference area. Grass production was 189.7 and 276.6 lbs/acre for <br />the permit area and reference area respectively. <br />Woody Plant Density. Woody plant density information is <br />presented on Table SF. Statistical summaries are presented on <br />Table 12F. The big sagebrush permit area had a total of 17,041 <br />stems/acre of which 9,409 were douglas rabbitbrush, 166 rubber <br />rabbitbrush, 7,328 big sagebrush and 138 fringed sagebrush. The <br />reference area had a total of 15,607 stems/acre of which 12,247 <br />were douglas rabbitbrush and 3,360 big sagebrush. <br />Alkali Sagebrush Vegetative Type <br />• General Description. The alkali sagebrush type is not as <br />extensive as the big sagebrush type. In the permit area, this <br />type is generally restricted to bottomlands with clayey soils which <br />are potentially high in sodium and other salts. The alkali sage- <br />brush type has its greatest extent along the tributary which drains <br />into Bolton Draw. Alkali sagebrush also occurs on lowland ridge- <br />tops and breaks. <br />Alkali sagebrush is generally less than 3 or 4 inches tall <br />and often occurs in somewhat evenly spaced patterns. The soils <br />appear droughty and surface soil cracking is often present in <br />the alkali sagebrush type. <br />Within the alkali sagebrush community letterman needlegrass, <br />prairie junegrass and western wheatgrass are the dominant grasses. <br />n <br />U <br />-7- <br />