Laserfiche WebLink
reference area in 2003 was fourteen. Graminoids accounted for six species, forts seven <br />• species, and one shrub species was presets. Of the species encountered in the reference <br />azea, twelve were native and two were introduced. <br />Perennial species outnumbered annual species by eight to six. Seasonality of the species <br />was mixed, with cool season species accounting for nine species and warm season species <br />contributing four species. Of the species encountered, five represented greater than three <br />percent relative cover; Artemisia frlifolia (49.58%), Stipa viridula (25.50%), Helianthus <br />anm~us (7.08%), Bromus tectorum (4.82%), and Chenopodium album (3.12%). <br />Cool season plants dominated the reference area with nine species, while there were four <br />warm season species and one deciduous species. Graminoid seasonality was evenly split <br />between warm and cool season species with three representatives each. Six of seven fort <br />species were cool season and the shrub species deciduous. <br />3.1.2 1995 RECLAMATION AREAS <br />The 1995 reclamation areas encompass a total of approximately 32 acres of reclamation in <br />six distinct areas within the Keenesburg Mine permit area. The areas are found <br />throughout the disturbance area of the mine and include; Area 1 (the former tipple area <br />north of the shop building), Area 8 comprising the east third of A pit, Area 16 formed by <br />an area immediately east of the western parcel reclaimed in 1987, Area 24 (a road wmdor <br />from the northwest corner of the long term spoil storage area to the northwest boundary <br />of the permit area), Area 27 (an area between the sediment pond and the 1985 reclamation <br />area which was used for spoil storage), and Area 28, an area west of the sediment pond. <br />In 2003, sampling was undertaken in each of the six distinct pazcels reclaimed in 1995. <br />Vegetation cover transacts and herbaceous production quadrats were distributed within <br />the areas based on size. The 1995 reclamation areas are nearly flat with a gentle slope <br />(<I °) to the north and east. Reclamation and coincident revegetation within this area took <br />place in 1995. Replaced soils were sandy in texture. Specific sampling information for the <br />1995 reclamation areas is contained in Tables 4 and 5. <br />3.1.2.1 Vegetation Cover <br />m <br />Overall vegetation cover within the 1995 reclamation areas was dominated by wane and <br />cool season graminoids. Ten perennial graminoid species contributed significantly to <br />vegetation cover in the 1995 reclamation areas. Bromus tectorum, an annual introduced <br />weedy grass, also contributed significantly to cover this year. The number of species <br />represented in cover sampling increased sGghdy from 1 S in 2002 to 20 this year (Savage <br />and Savage, 2002). <br />Total mean vegetation cover of the 1995 reclamation azeas was 39.00 percent. <br />Graminoids provided 37.00 percent mean cover (94.51% relative cover), while forts <br />accounted for 1.60 percent mean cover (3.92% relative cover). One succulent was <br />encountered, providing 0.20 percent mean cover (0.39% relative cover). One woody <br />shrub species was also encountered in the 1995 reclamation areas during the cover <br />C.ooro Energy t:ompary Page 7 <br />2008 Revegetation Monkoring Report <br />