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I <br />the center point. Densities on the two sides of the transect were then averaged <br />together for a single transect value. <br />Successfulness of Revegetation Efforts. As outlined in the approved reclamation <br />monitoring plan, all reclaimed areas sampled during the 1991 monitoring effort <br />were compared to the previous monitoring efforts on these same areas <br />conducted in 1987 and 1989 as well as data collected from the Grassland <br />Reference Area, which is the ultimate standard for determining revegetation <br />success of these sites. <br />Evaluation of the present Southfield Mine permit reveals that the <br />revegetation success standards for plant cover, production, and woody plant <br />density are to be made on the basis of a comparison of these parameters <br />sampled from the reclaimed site and the corresponding reference area, using <br />the 90 percent confidence interval standard. Species diversity is set, such that <br />the four dominate plant species shall not comprise no more than 80 percent <br />composition of the total cover with no single species contributing more than 40 <br />percent of the composition. <br />A review of the previously collected vegetation data for this site reveals <br />that the original 1980 cover data were collected as basal cover and thus are not <br />directly comparable to the present data which measures foliar plant cover. <br />Monitoring of the Grassland Reference Area in 1987, wherein total foliar plant <br />cover were measured, resulted in an average total plant cover of 41.00 percent, <br />74.08 grams per square meter or 660.1 pounds of air dir forage production per <br />acre, and a woody plant density value of 179.70 woody plants or 2.80 shrubs <br />per 50 square meters for this site. These values will be used as standards in the <br />present evaluation to which the successfulness of the present reclamation <br />efforts will be compared in this evaluation. <br />4 <br />