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Section 816.24 (3) Continued. <br />• silts such as those found in the permit area. Researchers in North <br />Dakota have documented that mixing of the topsoils as a result of <br />their movement by scrapers significantly reduces their susceptibility <br />to wind erosion. Gee, et. al., (1978) reported that the wind <br />erodibility of fallowed farm ground was 119 metric tons per hectare <br />per year. Placement of these soils in topsoil stockpiles reduced <br />their erodibility to 90 metric tons and replacement of these same <br />stockpiles onto leveled spoil further reducted their erodibility to <br />76 metric tons per acre. As explained by Bauer, et. al., (1976), <br />the sealing was not a result of high SAR values, but rather the <br />result of higher silt and clay fractions in the soil material. The <br />evaporation of moisture from the topsoil results in a surface seal <br />that effectively prevents wind erosion. Leaving the topsoil in a <br />rough condition until seeding and constructing the contour furrows <br />described in Section 780.18 after seeding will along with the <br />mulching practices described in Section 816.114, effectively control <br />• both wind and water erosion. The reduction in erosion potential <br />from such methods is documented in the work by Clyde, et al. (1978). <br />Section 816.25 Topsoil: Nutrients and soil amendments. <br />Nutrients and soil amendments in the amounts determined by soil tests <br />shall be applied to the redistributed surface soil layer, so that it <br />supports the approved postmining land use and meets the revegetation <br />requirements of Sections 816.111-816.117. All soil tests shall be <br />performed by a qualified laboratory using standard methods approved by <br />the regulatory authority. <br />Following spoil leveling and topsoil replacement, soil sampling and <br />testing will be done to determine the nutrient status of <br />the plant growth medium in light of the approved postmining land <br />use and the revegetation requirements of Section 816.111-816.117. <br />• The sampling techniques will be those recommended by Berg (1978). <br />The ordinary agricultural practice of compositing samples will be <br />816-19 <br />