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• INTRODUCTION <br />Quantitative sampling of reclaimed areas at Seneca Coal Company's (SCC) Seneca II Mine was <br />undertaken in July 2003 by ESCO Associates to facilitate SCC's continuing monitoring of the <br />progress of these areas in relation to revegetation performance standards. Methods, sample <br />areas, and sample sizes were those specified by SCC. <br />METHODS <br />Reclamation Units and Sampling Locations <br />The reclamation sampling units sampled at the Seneca II Mine in 2003 are shown on Map 1, <br />"2003 Vegetation Monitoring Locations". Areas sampled in 2003 were 1987-1989, 1996, and <br />1998-1999 Reclamation, Wadge pasture and PECOCO pasture grazing units, and the reference <br />areas. <br />Reference Area Sampling <br />The Mountain Brush and Sagebrush reference areas were sampled to provide data for <br />comparison with reclaimed area data. A potential reference area first sampled in 2001 <br />corresponding to the Alkali sagebrushlWestern wheatgrass vegetation type that is prevalent on <br />• the heavy soils of the area was again monitored in 2003. Reference Area sampling locations are <br />shown on Map 1, "2003 Vegetation Monitoring Locations". <br />Cover Sampling <br />Cover data were collected along 50 m transects using a point intercept method in which data <br />were recorded as interceptions of a point with plant species, fitter, standing dead plant material, <br />soil, or rock. Plant material produced during 2003 and still standing was tallied by species. Litter <br />was considered to be any organic material that had fallen, or had begun to fall to the soil surface. <br />Standing dead was any dead plant material that was produced in previous years but which was <br />still standing and had not lodged or broken off to become litter. Inorganic materials greater than 1 <br />cm in diameter were considered rock. The cover sampling points were optically projected using a <br />Cover-Point Optical Point Projection Device developed by ESCO Associates. The 50 m transects <br />were randomly located and oriented in the reclaimed and reference areas. One hundred points <br />were collected along each transect. A pair of points were collected every meter with points <br />sampled on opposite sides of each transect, 0.5 m from the transect. <br />First hit interceptions were used to calculate absolute top layer foliar cover (see COVER column <br />in data tables) by dividing the number of interceptions for a particular species or ground cover <br />• type by the total number of points taken (100). First hit relative vegetation cover was calculated <br />by dividing first hit absolute cover for each species by the total first hit vegetation cover. All-layer <br />