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The upland sagebrush reference area ccx~rises approximately 4.8 acres <br />r• south of the study site (Map 1, Appendix A). Only 16 species were <br />\\ encountered in this type; haaever, no one species was dominant as <br />evidenced by cover data. Total vegetative basal cover was 14.7%. The <br />grass stratum and forb stratum accounted for 6.2 and 7.7% total basal <br />cover, respectively; the shrub stratum contributed 0.8%. The r~r,a;n;nq <br />ground cover comprised by litter-rock was 50.0% and that of bare ground <br />was 21%. Big sagebrush accounted for less than half of the total <br />shrub basal Dover (rubber rabbitbrush ac~unted for the rest) but <br />comprised 85% of the total shrub canopy cover. Herbaceous species <br />evidencing high basal cover were oomron yarrow (1.2% basal wver), <br />Pacific aster (1.0%), milkvetch (Astragalus sp., 1.0%), and common <br />dandelion (Taraxacum officinale, 1.5%). The m>st frequently encountered <br />species in cover quadrats were big sagebrush (53.38 frequency), comron <br />dandelion (60%), oom[nn yarrow (46.7%), Pacific aster (40%) and mi)kvetch <br />(40%) . <br />Total vegetative production at the upland sagebrush control site was <br />(• 711.6 lhs/acre, approximately 36a lvaer than production on the affected <br />area. The shrub stratum accounted for 53.7% of the total production <br />while the grass and forb strata contributed 20.5 and 25.7%, respectively. <br />Big sagebrush evidenced the highest production, 361.5 lbs/acre or 50.8% <br />of the total vegetation production. Other species shaaing high produc- <br />tion on the site were arrowleaf balsamroot (54.1 lbs/acre), milkvetch <br />(37.8 lbs/acre) and Pacific aster (46.8 ibs/acre). Average moisture <br />content was 46.5% for grasses and 51.7% for forbs. <br />Both total production and total basal cover were less on the upland <br />sagebrush control plot than on the upland sagebrush affected area. <br />Although rrore species ~vere encountered in the sagebrush affected areas, <br />(perhaps reflective of the increased samaling effort in the affected <br />area), species diversity indices for the two sites were similar. The <br />Brost dominant species in both areas, Basin big sagebrush, showed a]srost <br />identical relative percent canopy cover and total production in both <br />the affected and control areas. Accordingly, the upland sagebrush <br />~ • <br />-61- <br />