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<br />~• Increases in relative cover were likewise noted for the majority of cool season grasses. <br />Of specific note is Poa compressa, a cool season short-lived perennial grass not <br />' encountered in 1994 sampling. This individual species was well represented in the <br />native community and reclaimed azeas in 1995. Bromus marginatus, another perennial <br />cool season grass increased it's representation fourfold in the 1986 Reclamation Area <br />and neazly doubled in the 1987 Reclamation Area (its relative cover dipped slightly in <br />the 1985 Reclamation Area, partly due to the significant increase in species numbers). <br />~, Similar increases in relative cover were noted in Agropyron cristatum and Agropyron <br />dasystachyum. <br />' As notable as the increases in 1995 coo] season graminoid and forb cover were the <br />decreases and mazginal increases in warm season graminoid relative cover. While <br />three of the four warm season grasses at the Osgood Sand Reference Area experienced <br />' modest increases in relative cover, only Calamovilla longifo/ia experienced a <br />significant increase in relative cover within the reclaimed areas (1986 and 1987 <br />Reclamation Areas). The remaining warm season grasses decreased in relative cover <br />' from 1994. This can again be attributed to the rapid and voluminous growth of the <br />coo! season species within the reclaimed areas during this unusual moisture regime, <br />resulting in increased competition for nutrients, moisture, light and available space for <br />' the warm season species. <br />1 • SUMMARY <br />Monitoring of the 1985, 1986, and 1987 Reclamation Areas and the Osgood Sand <br />Reference Area in 1995 showed that the reclaimed areas met or exceeded revegetation <br />success standards for vegetation cover and herbaceous production. Monitoring for <br />' species diversity/composition revealed that none of the reclaimed areas, nor the <br />reference azea, could meet the CDMG revegetation success standazd for species <br />diversity. <br />Based on the sampling conducted for vegetation cover, herbaceous production, and <br />species composition in 1995, it has been documented that the reclaimed and revegetated <br />' areas seeded in 1985, 1986, and 1987 have established a diverse, effective, and <br />permanent vegetation cover of the same seasonal variety native to the area and aze <br />capable of self-regeneration and plant succession in accordance with the requirements <br />of the Colorado Surface Coal Mining Reclamation Act. <br />1 <br />1 <br />i~ <br />-1(r <br />