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• Production <br />Only the herbaceous component was sampled for annual production in both the reclaimed and <br />reference areas. Because the reference areas are both dominated by woody plants, the <br />herbaceous component of production is small and is greatly exceeded by the production of the <br />reclaimed areas where woody plants comprise only a small amount of total vegetation <br />composition (Figure 2). Whether or not the large annual herbaceous production of the <br />reclaimed areas equals or exceeds the total (woody plus herbaceous) annual production of the <br />reference areas is unknown. <br />Over the period of 1987 to 1991, the levels of production observed have varied as follows: <br />Production (oven-dry Ibs per acre) <br />ARF~4 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 <br />ALL 1988 2257 1343 2303 2204 2747 2947 2232 <br />Wadge Pasture ----- 3050 2201 2741 2874 3164 3567 2716 <br />Mtn. Brush Ref.651 1126 416 615 724 1147 782 346 <br />Sagebrush Ref. 1372 1212 509 1252 1232 876 1454 1110 <br />• From the above data, it is apparent that after a low point in 1989, a recovery in production <br />occurred in 1990 and continued or stabilized in 1991. In 1992, reclaimed area production in <br />the Mountain Brush Reference Area rose while that of the Sagebrush Reference Area fell, while <br />in 1993 the opposite was observed. In 1994, substantial declines in production paralleling <br />observed declines in cover were observed. Variations in production in the Mountain Brush <br />Reference Area may reflect year to year random chance of samples falling in the heaviest oak- <br />serviceberry stands, which tend to have relatively little herbaceous production, because of the <br />typically heavily shaded and, consequently, sparse understory. In 1994, as mentioned above, <br />the effects of accidental herbicide exposure may have reduced production also. <br />Production data from 1994 show that biomass production was in the middle range of all <br />observations since 1987. 1994 biomass production values declined from 1993 values by 24 <br />percent in all areas except Mountain Brush Reference Area where an additional 32 percent <br />decline was observed. <br />The abundant herbaceous production of the reclaimed areas provides a significant grazing <br />resource. Since, for the most part, woody species, especially old growth, offer little that <br />• 27 , <br />