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data collection. Mean total vegetation cover has remained close to 25 <br />percent, except in 1991 when the site was grazed. The vegetation is <br />mostly dominated by native cool season perennial grasses and big <br />eagebrueh (Table 2). Increases in cover by big sagebrush have been <br />somewhat offset by slight decreases in cover by cool season perennial <br />grasses. Over time, it is likely that this trend will continue, <br />especially if big sagebrush continues to expand and form dense, <br />continuous stands. <br />The area seeded in 1988 currently has higher mean cover values for <br />both native and introduced perennial grasses than the 1984 areas. cover <br />by big sagebrush is still quite low in the 1988 areas and has a mean <br />cover value of leas than one percent. <br />The mean total vegetation cover data for the two areas combined <br />suggest that following the initial year of sampling when mean total <br />vegetation cover was 18.4 percent, the cover has increased to <br />approximately 30 percent (the value obtained in 1990 and 1992). The low <br />value in 1991 was almost certainly related to livestock grazing. There <br />have been some other interesting changes over the last four years. Biq <br />eagebrueh has increased from 1.4 percent mean cover in 1989 to 4.0 <br />percent in 1992. Observations suggest that these increases are related <br />to increases in both the size of the established plants as well as <br />continued establishment of seedlings, however most of the increases have <br />occurred in the 1984 area. Russian wildrye has increased from 0.2 <br />percent mean cover in 1989 to 7.2 percent mean cover in 1992. <br />Thickepike wheatgrase doubled in mean cover between 1989 and 1990, but <br />it has remained consistent between 1990 and 1992. <br />-4- <br />