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All shrubs, including seedlings, with root crowns found within the quadrat boundaries were <br />tabulated by species and by life stages as follows: seedling, mature, or dead. <br />Plant Species Frequency and Density Measurements <br />During the course of cover and shrub density sampling, all plant species occurring within one meter <br />on either side of the SOm cover sample transact were noted as a part of each sample. Frequency <br />for each plant species observed during sampling was calculated by dividing the number of sample <br />transacts in which the species was observed by the total number of samples (see cover sample <br />distribution by area above). As such, this value is more probably correctly known es 'constancy.' <br />Relative vegetation cover was calculated by dividing the absolute cover of each species by the <br />total vegetation cover end expressing the result as a percent. <br />The total number of species (within each liteform) observed in each sample provide a measure of <br />'species density', indicating relative species richness of different areas. These measures reflect <br />progress toward return of diverse species composition in the reclaimed areas from a different <br />perspective than is available from examination of cover data alone. <br />Plant Species Listing <br />During the course of the field work, a list of all encountered plant species (quantitatively plus <br />incidental observations) was compiled Tor each reclamation area and the two reference areas. <br />Scientific names used follow Weber and Johnston (1979); common names cited may be found in <br />Beetle (1970), Nickerson et al. (1976), or SCS (1979). Cross reference to the substantially <br />revised scientific nomenclature for the flora of Western Colorado, as set forth by Weber (1987), <br />may be determined by reference to Wittman et al. (1988). Ot plant species observed, only Canada <br />thistle (Cirsium arvensel and white-top (Cardaria drabs) are listed state-wide as noxious weeds <br />(Thornton et al. 1974). Blue lettuce (Lactuca oulchella), buckhorn plantain (Plantaco lanceolatal, <br />and pennycress (Thlaspi arvense) are all restricted noxious weeds in Colorado (Thornton et al. <br />1974); the former two are sparingly present at soma locations in the reclaimed areas, while the <br />latter is a common species in the youngest reclaimed areas, and disappears within a few years. <br />Reference Area Sampling <br />The Seneca II Mine Mountain Brush and Sagebrush Reference Areas were sampled to provide data <br />Tor comparison with reclaimed area data. Methods used were the same as detailed above for the <br />reclaimed areas except shrub density was determined within 1m x 50m quadrats. <br />4 <br />