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80 <br />Field Season 1978 <br />• In order to adequately monitor plant establishment and subsequent <br />successional trends, a comprehensive sampling program was initiated on <br />the Retorted Shale Successional Study in 1978. Six randomly located, <br />permanently placed, rectangular-shaped 0.25 mz quadrats were established <br />in each subplot. The quadrat location was marked by the placement of <br />steel stakes in opposite corners. Primary vegetative parameters <br />measured were density, cover, and biomass by individual plant species. <br />Biomass measurements were obtained by correlating nonconsumptive esti- <br />mates from the subplots with estimates and clipped plants taken from the <br />buffer zones. Plant vigor was monitored through the measurement of <br />maximum plant height and seed stalk production. Both maximum plant <br />height and number of seed stalks were taken on a per species per quadrat <br />basis. <br />The Retorted Shale Successional Study was sampled bdice during the <br />1978 growing season. The initial sampling in mid June provided early <br />establishment data, while the sampling in late August produced data on <br />first-year survival. During the late season sampling period, it was <br />felt that the permanent quadrats were not giving us an adequate estimate <br />of plant invasion on the subplots. A sampling procedure was then under- <br />taken utilizing the whole subplot as a quadrat to more fully document <br />plant invasion. The subplots were walked in an east-west direction in <br />l m strips by two researchers who recorded basal area and biomass of any <br />invading species. These data are currently being reduced and analyzed to <br />give a more complete picture of plant invasion on each treatment. <br />In addition to vegetation sampling, soil and shale samples were <br />• taken from the artificial profiles during the field season. Surface soil <br />