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<br />• <br />Coves Sampling <br />Cover data were collected along 50 m transacts using apoint-intercept method in which data <br />were recorded as interceptions of a point with either plant species, litter, standing dead plant <br />material, soil, or rock. Plant material produced during 2005 and still standing was tallied by <br />species. Litter was considered to be any organic material that had fallen, or had begun to fall to <br />the soil surface. Standing dead was any dead plant material that was produced in previous years <br />but which was still standing and had not lodged or broken off to become litter. Inorganic materials <br />greater than 1 cm in diameter were considered rock. The cover sampling points were optically <br />projected using aCover-Point Opticel Point Projection Device developed by ESCO Associates. <br />The 50 m transeds were randomty located and oriented in the reclaimed and reference areas. <br />One hundred points were collected along each transact. A pair of points were collected every <br />meter with points sampled on opposite sides of each transact, 0.5 m from the transact. <br />First hit interceptions were used to calculate absolute top layer foliar cover (see COVER column <br />in data tables) by dividing the number of interceptions for a particular species or ground cover <br />type by the total number of points taken (100). First hit relative vegetation cover was calculated <br />by dividing first hit absolute cover for each species by the total first hit vegetation cover. All-layer <br />absolute cover (COVER-ALL column in data tables) was calculated by dividing all hits (first-hits <br />and additional-hits) for a particular species by the total number of points taken (100). In addition, <br />all-layer relative cover was calculated using all hits for a particular species, divided by the total <br />hits accumulated during sampling of the transact. <br />Herbaceous Production Sampling <br />Herbaceous production sampling was accomplished using one-half square meter (0.5 mZ) circular <br />plots within which all herbaceous growth in a vertical projection was dipped and placed in labeled <br />paper bags. Clipped plants were grouped into the following life forms and bagged: <br />- Native Annual /Biennial Fortis <br />- Native Annual Grasses <br />- Native Perennial Fortis <br />-Introduced Annual /Biennial Fortis <br />- Introduced Annual Grasses <br />-Introduced Perennial Fortis <br />-Native Perennial Grasses 8 Grasslikes-Introduced Perennial Graminoids <br /> <br />Lichens, mosses, and woody plant species present in the sample plot were not collected. <br />Clipped material was returned to the ESCO laboratory and dried at 105 °C for 24 hours, then <br />weighed to the nearest 0.1 gm. <br />