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3.0 RESULTS <br /> <br />These hay fields have been in hay production for over 30 years <br />(Sileago 1979). The fields were irrigated until 1971 when roads were <br />constructed through them. The fields had been fertilized previously, <br />but no fertilization has occurred in the last 10 years. Hay is harvested <br />oa the average of 1.5 times per year, with two cuttings in wet years and <br />only one cutting in dry years. <br />Minimal management has occurred on these lands over the past 10 <br />• <br />l <br />years, and the fields are quite weedy. Dominant plants (Table 1) are <br />smooth brome (Bromus inermis) and quackgrass (Agropyrca re ens). Two <br />legumes were the next most common plants, each comprising approximately <br />5X of the vegetative cover. These were alfalfa (Medicago saliva) and <br />yellow sweet clover (Melilotus officinalis). A thistle (Cirsium corodensis) ' <br />occurred frequently but comprised lpproximately 3p cover. The remaining <br />vegetation was comprised of various weeds and grasses commonly found in <br />old hayfields. <br />Vegetation cover totalled 58.0 + 13.8°, over the entire vegetation <br />type. Total cover, including rocks, litter and vegetation averaged <br />83.8X ± 12.8. The minimum number of plots required to detect a i0~ <br />change is the mean with 90°,~ confidence is 19 traasects for vegetation <br />cover alone and 8 transects far total cover (Dora 1979). A total of 45 <br />plots was sampled in this hayfield vegetation type (Figure 1). <br />Vegetation height varied from approximately 15 cm (6 in) in recently <br />LJ <br />mowed areas to 90 cm (3 ft) in unmowed areas. Certain unmowed areas <br />with yellow sweet clover approached 122 cm (4 ft) in height. <br />Productivity in the hayfield vegetation type has been estimated by <br />`_ <br />determining the number of tons of hay production per acre for the moved <br />