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1 <br />,~• IV. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS <br />' Areas revegetated in 1985, 1986, and 1987 were quantitatively sampled in 1995 to <br />evaluate revegetation establishment for monitoring purposes. The Osgood Sand <br />Reference Area was also quantitatively sampled to provide the revegetation success <br />' criteria values for vegetation cover and herbaceous production for the reclaimed area <br />governed by the requirements of Rule 4.15.8. Parameters sampled in 1995 were <br />compared to the same parameters sampled in 1994 using the same sample methods. <br />' Monitoring from years prior to 1994 will not be discussed due to the distinct <br />differences in sampling methodology employed prior to 1994. Tables 10 and 11 <br />provide comparisons of 1994 and 1995 sampling parameter values. <br />COVER <br />Total vegetation cover on all azeas sampled in 1995 was significantly higher than in the <br />1994 sampling (Savage and Savage, 1994). In 1995, total vegetation cover on the <br />Osgood Sand Reference Area exhibited an increase of 106 percent over the 1994 cover <br />' values. Similarly, the 1985 Reclamation Area exhibited a 127 percent increase over <br />1994, the 1986 Reclamation Area showed a 99 percent increase over the 1994 cover <br />' values, and the 1987 Reclamation Area exhibited a 92 percent increase in total cover <br />• over that sampled in 1994. The amount of increase in total vegetation cover (in <br />percent) above the 1994 levels was very consistent between areas. <br />!, The reclaimed area exhibiting the lowest vegetation cover during the 1995 sampling <br />was the 1987 Reclamation Area with 46.00% total vegetative cover. The 1986 <br />Reclamation Area exhibited the highest level of total vegetation cover with 47.80 <br />percent. The total percent spread in cover for the three reclamation azeas for 1995 was <br />1.80 percent, an insignificant difference. Based on the quantitative statistical Students <br />t-test, the vegetation cover on the 1985, 1986 and 1987 Reclamation Areas was not <br />significantly less than 90% of the Osgood Sand Reference Area cover in 1995. <br />Therefore, the 1985, 1986, and 1987 Reclamation Areas would meet the final <br />revegetation success criterion for cover based on the 1995 sampling data. <br />_ HERBACEOUS PRODUCTION <br />' As with vegetation cover, herbaceous production from all areas during the 1995 <br />growing season was significantly greater than encountered in the 1994 sampling. In <br />1995, herbaceous production on the Osgood Sand Reference Area was 435 percent <br />greater than herbaceous production in 1994. Similarly, herbaceous production at the <br />' 1985 Reclamation Area was 450 percent greater than 1994, and the 1986 and 1987 <br />Reclamation Areas exhibited herbaceous production 235 percent and 267 percent <br />• greater than their corresponding areas in 1994. <br />-13- <br />