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managed according to the local jurisdiction, which is Las Animas County at TBM. It is <br />not included on the Las Animas County noxious weed list and therefore no formal <br />management response is required. <br />Production <br />Table 4 shows the results from the 2007 production clipping. Herbaceous production in <br />2007 averaged 79.4 grams per one-half square meter which calculates out to 1418 pounds <br />per acre. <br />2008 RESULTS <br />Precipitation was considerably less in 2008 than in 2007 measuring 4.55 inches from <br />January through June. The lower precipitation was reflected in lower vegetative cover <br />and production values. <br />A total of 20 transects were sampled; nine on Pit 4; ten on the large Pit 2 contour strip <br />east of the county road; and one on the small Pit 2 contour strip west of the county road. <br />After calculating sample adequacy it was determined that 6 samples were adequate for <br />cover and 43 samples were needed to achieve production sample adequacy. Sample <br />adequacy was achieved for cover, but it was not achieved for production. <br />Cover <br />The average total vegetation cover in 2008 was 26.8% as shown on Table 5. Of this total <br />grasses contributed 10.5%, forbs contributed 43.2%, sub-shrubs contributed 7.8% and <br />shrubs contributed 9.7%. The predominant species was smooth brome, an introduced <br />grass, at 8.6% absolute cover and a relative cover value of 32%. Yellow sweet clover <br />was the second most dominant species with 5.8% absolute cover and 21.8% relative <br />cover. Field bindweed contributed 3.5% absolute cover and 13% relative cover. It is <br />interesting to note that sub-shrubs and shrubs contributed 17.5 % relative cover in 2008 <br />compared to only 7.3% relative cover in 2007. During 2008, 28 species were observed in <br />the cover sampling as shown on the species list in Table 6. <br />Species Composition <br />The total number of plant species encountered during cover sampling was twenty-eight as <br />listed on Table 6. Graminoids accounted for nine species, forbs - fourteen species, sub- <br />shrubs - two species and shrubs - three species. Some of these could not be identified in <br />the field. Of the species identified seventeen were native and nine were introduced. A <br />mix of annual and perennial species was present. There were 19 perennials, three <br />biennials and five annuals. Contrasted to 2007, the contribution of perennials was higher <br />in 2008 than 2007. In 2007 annuals were 6.1% of the relative cover and in 2008 annuals <br />were 4.7% of the relative cover. The higher precipitation in 2007 was more conducive to <br />the annual species. Seasonality of the reclaimed area species was mixed, both warm and