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• accounted for by alfalfa. In 1990, alfalfa production had fallen to 31 percent of total production. <br />However, in 1991 alfalfa had risen to 40 percent of total production. The reduction in alfalfa in <br />1990 was thought to be partly due to climatic conditions since the ungrazed Wadge Pasture <br />Comparison area sampled in 1990 had 34.5 percent of total production in alfalfa. It was thought <br />that the effects of tour years of drought conditions were finally, in 1990, being manifested in the <br />deep-rooted alfalfa. The amelioration of climatic conditions in 1991 seems to correlate with the <br />observed increase in alfalfa production in Wadge Pasture. <br />Shrub Density <br />Figure 3 graphically presents shrub density totals for reclaimed areas sampled in 1991. As can <br />be seen, the highest densities by far were observed in the 1984 Wolf Creek area. Wolf Creek <br />reclamation has shown higher shrub densities in general for many years (see Seneca II Mine <br />Reclamation Monitoring Reports from 1987 through 1990), probably because herbaceous cover <br />tends to develop more slowly in these areas, allowing sufficient physical and competitive 'space' <br />to allow shrub seed (or roots and root parts in the topsoil) to sprout and establish without <br />hindrance from herbaceous growth. Also, whereas in the other reclaimed areas it is typical to <br />have mountain snowberry the most abundant of all the shrubs, in the 1984 WoIF Creek area (and as <br />• observed in 1983 Wolf Creek reclamation in 1990), the density of mountain snowberry is minor <br />compared to both basin big sagebrush and mountain big sagebrush (Table 20). <br />Shrub density levels in the 1989 Wolf Creek area, while very modest at 95 stems per acre, are <br />over five times what they are in the 1989 Wadge. The reason for this is unknown since the foliar <br />cover, bare soil, litter, and rock values for the two areas are very comparable. <br />Review of 1985, 1987,1988,1989, 1990, and 1991 sampling data for the Seneca II Mine shows <br />the following documented average shrub density by year: <br />Samolina Year Stems /acre <br />1985 378 <br />1987 300 <br />1988 314 <br />1989 288 <br />1990 281 <br />1991 228 <br />i <br />,6 <br />