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rx 5 SHRUB ESTABLISHMENT STUDY: Technical Progress Report Prepared by: M. W.Paschke Rangeland Ecosystem Science Department Colorado State University Fort Collins, CO 80523 December 13, 2001 The shrub establishment study is being funded by the Colorado Division of Minerals and Geology (CDMG) and conducted by Colorado State University. The study was initiated in the fall of 2000 at three coalmines in northwest Colorado: Colowyo, Seneca II, and Trapper. The purpose of this report is to document progress since our last report in June 2001. Between June and December 2001 there were two major activities completed on this project. The first was vegetation data collection at each mine from July 23 to July 25, 2001. The second major activity was data entry, validation and analysis, which were completed in December 2001. During the July vegetation sampling, each demonstration plot was sampled for vegetative cover by species, bare ground, rock and litter. Apoint-intercept method was used to estimate cover. Within each plot at Colowyo-and Trapper (Figures 1 and 2), five 100-m transects were randomly located. One of the five transects in each plot at Trapper mine was stratified in mycorrhizae inoculation strips in order to document baseline conditions in these subplots. Cover data was collected every one meter along each transects (500 cover points per plot). At the Seneca II mine, where plots are considerably smaller (Figure 3), we used three 30-m transects and collected cover data every one meter (90 cover points per plot). Some plots at the Seneca II mine were divided into subplots by a fence. During the 7uly 2001 vegetation sampling we sampled both subplots (fenced and unfenced). Plots at the Colowyo mine were also subdivided by a fence treatment, but the fence was not constructed until after our sampling, therefore we did not stratify our sampling by fence treatment. Fence construction at Trapper mine should be completed prior to the 2002 vegetation sampling. In addition to cover sampling along these transects, we estimated shrub establishment and shrub height in each demonstration plot within small quadrants along each transect. At Colowyo and Trapper, the quadrants were 0.25mZ and were located every 20 m along the transect for a total of 6.25 mZ per plot. In the smaller plots at Seneca II mine, we used 0.5m quadrants located every 10 m along each transect for a total sampling azea of 4.5 m2 per demonstration plot. Within each of these quadrants all shrubs were identified to species and heights of individuals were recorded. At the Seneca II mine shrub tubelings were planted in September of 2000 in select demonstration plots. To evaluate the success of this operation, survival of transplants was quantified during the vegetation sampling. Shrub survival within each demonstration plot was estimated by following rows of transplants and scoring seedlings as either alive or dead. A minimum of 25% of the transplant rows within each plot was surveyed as such. CF 8.5.5 2002 results 1