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• DISCUSSION <br />Cover <br />As can be seen in Table 1, 1997 cover averaged 45.9 percent, approximately one-half of which <br />was annual species, as would be expected of such young reclamation areas. In 1996, annual <br />species comprised two thirds of total vegetation cover. Perennial species in 1997 (Table 6) <br />comprised 59.1 percent of total vegetation cover (compared 36.4 percent of total vegetation <br />cover in 1996) . Of this amount, native perennial species were 45.1 percent of total vegetation <br />cover (compared to 32.1 percent in 1996) and introduced perennial species were 5.5 percent <br />of total vegetation cover (compared to 4.3 percent in 1996). <br />Production <br />As can be seen from Table 2, herbaceous production averaged 1262 Ibs per acre, with no <br />measurable alfalfa (which comprised only 0.4 percent ground cover). <br />Shrub Density <br />• Table 3 presents shrub density data for the reclaimed areas sampled in 1996. As can be seen, <br />average density was 1574 stems per acre, the bulk of which was snowberry, serviceberry and <br />bitterbrush. Woods rose and big sagebrush also were well-represented. Some of the <br />randomly located and oriented transects (especially samples 6 and 8) extended into an area <br />intensively sown with shrub seed (Direct Shrub Seeding area, see sampling results from 1995 <br />in ESCO 1996) where very high densities exist (more than 14,000 stems per acre in sample 8). <br />Even without those two very high values, the mean was over 500 stems per acre. <br />The abundant and diverse presence of shrubs in this area bodes well for the future if perennial <br />herbaceous competition does not become overwhelming. The abundant presence of native <br />perennial herbaceous species likewise is also a good sign for the likelihood of woody species' <br />establishment since they are generally less competitive than introduced perennial herbaceous <br />species. Several years' monitoring data in this area indicate that the perennial plant <br />communities are developing slowly, perhaps at a rate similar to successional patterns in native <br />communities of the area. <br />• <br />7 <br />