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were randomly located and oriented in the reclaimed and reference areas. Fifty points were <br />collected at each transect and distributed evenly along the transect. A pair of points were <br />collected at each meter with points sampled on opposite sides of the transect at each meter <br />mark, 0.5 m from the transect. <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 particular species by the total number of points taken (100). In addition, <br />all-layer relative cover was calculated using all hits for particular species divided by the total hits <br />accumulated during sampling of the transect. <br />Total Annual Production Sampling <br />Woody and herbaceous annual biomass production sampling was undertaken in all reclamation <br />and reference areas listed above. Total annual production sampling was accomplished using <br />one-half square meter (0.5 m2) circular quadrats within which all current year's growth in a vertical <br />production was removed by clipping, separated by species, and then placed in labeled paper <br />bags. Cacti, lichens, and mosses present in the sample quadrat were not collected. Clipped <br />material was returned to the. ESCO laboratory and dried at 105 °C for 24 hours, then weighed to <br />the nearest 0.1 gm. <br />Shrub Density Sampling <br />Shrub density sampling was undertaken in all three reclaimed areas sampled but did not occur in <br />the reference areas. Shrub density samples originated adjacent to the location of the production <br />quadrat. The orientation of each shrub density sample was selected using a blind throw of a <br />meter stick. All shrubs and subshrubs with root crowns located within the boundaries of 2 X 50 m <br />quadrats ("belt transects") were tallied according to species and life stages as follows: Seedling, <br />Mature, or Dead. The presence of dead individuals was recorded but did not contribute to shrub <br />density calculations. <br />Lifeforms Used in Data Presentation <br />As a tool to enhance understanding of the collected data and facilitate comparisons with previous <br />sampling efforts, the contents of all the data and summary tables are organized by lifeform. <br />lifeform categories used here reflect growth habit and provenance (place of origin). Lifeform <br />categories used include the following: native annual and biennial fdrbs, introduced annual and <br />biennial forts, native annual grasses, introduced annual grasses, native perennial (orbs, <br />introduced perennial (orbs, native perennial graminoids (includes grasses and grass-like plants), <br />introduced perennial graminoids, native subshrubs, native shrubs, lichens, bryophytes, and <br />succulents. <br />Plant Species Frequency and Density Measurements <br />During the course of cover sampling, all plant species occurring within one meter on either side of <br />the cover sample transect were noted as present within each sample. Frequency for each plant <br />species observed during sampling was calculated by dividing the number of sample transects in <br />which the species was observed by the total number of samples (see cover sample distribution by <br />area above). As such, this value is probably more correctly known as "constancy'. <br />The total number of species (within each lifeform) observed in each 100 square meter sample <br />provides a measure of "species density', indicating the relative species richness of different <br />