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e ESPEY, HUSTON &ASSOCIATES, INC. L_J 3.2.1 Meadow Community A meadow community dominated by perennial graminoids occurs on the valleys between mountainous slopes. Relief is relatively level. The major soil type is the Straw silty clay loam which is deep and somewhat poorly drained. This climax community grades into the big sagebrush community rather abruptly as slope increases and the available moisture gradient decreases. Areas of standing water 2-10 centimeters deep ezist in topographic depressions of this community through- out the growing season. Cover The vegetation of the meadow community is represented by 42 species of plants, 22 graminoids, 19 forbs and 1 shrub. Graminoids are the dominant life form contributing 75 percent of the total estimated vegetation cover. Forbs constitute • 25 percent of the estimated cover while shrubs aze extremely raze representing 0 1 percent of the estimated vegetation cover. Total estimated vegetation cover i 97.8 percent. Litter cover is high (57.8 percent), rocks were neazly non-existent, soil cover was low (8.5 percent), and mosses were present in low cover (0.4 percent) (see Table K-2). Rubber rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus nauseosus) is the only shrub in the community. Total cover for this shrub was 0.1 percent. A mixture of cool season mid to tall graminoids chazacterizes the vegetation cover. The dominant graminoids aze bluegrass (Pon agassizensis) (10.5 percent), fieldclustered sedge (Cazex praegracilis) (10.4 percent), baltic rush (Juncos azcticus) (10.3 percent), Nebraska sedge (Cazex nebraskensis) (10.1 percent) and Canada bluegrass (Pon compressa) (9.5 percent). Other common grasses are: western wheatgrass (7.9 percent) in more xeric states, smooth brome (Bromopsis inermus) (5.4 percent) an introduced species in more disturbed azeas, quackgrass (4.3 percent), redtop (Agrostis giQantea) (2.2 percent) and little bazley (FIordeum pusillum) (1.1 percent). Other grasses occurring less frequently aze: tufted K-14