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. INTRODUCTION <br />Quantitative sampling of reclaimed areas at Seneca Coal Company's (SCC) Seneca 11 Mine was <br />undertaken in July 2001 by ESCO Associates tc 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 2001 are shown on Map 1, <br />"2001 Vegetation Monitoring Locations". The reclamation areas sampled in 2001 were the 1994, <br />1997, and 1999 reclamation, along with the grazing units referred to as Wadge Pasture and <br />PECOCO pasture. <br />Reference Area Sampling <br />The Mountain Brush and Sagebrush reference areas were sampled to provide data for <br />. comparison with reclaimed area data. Reference Area sampling locations are shown on Map 1, <br />"2001 Vegetation Monitoring Locations". An exploratory sampling of a potential new reference <br />area relating to the Alkali SagebrushM/estern Wheatgrass vegetation type prevalent on the heavy <br />soils of the area was conducted in 2001 also. <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, litter, standing dead plant material, <br />soil or rock. Plana material produced during 2001 and still standing was taNied by species. Litter <br />was considered to be any organic material that had fallen, or had begun to fail 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. Fifty points were <br />collected at each transect and distributed evenly along the transect. A pair of points were <br />collected at every other meter mark with points sampled on opposite sides of the transect, 0.5 m <br />from the transect. <br />• First hit interceptions were used to calculate absolute tap layer foliar cover (see COVER column <br />in data tables) by dividing the number of interceptions for a particular species, or ground cover <br />