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Irrigation Treatments: <br />Based on findings from 2005 and the higher than normal rainfall, irrigation treatments were <br />applied differently during the 2006 and 2007 growing seasons. Treatments were applied at 0.0, <br />0. 15, 0.3, or 0.6 gallons each day of treatment, one-half the rate applied in 2005. Irrigation <br />treatments were to be continued throughout the growing season. Because of evidence of saline <br />condition of the irrigation water supply during 2005 - 2006, clean potable water from a <br />Hayden, CO, hydrant was used to irrigate the trees in 2007. <br />Growth of transplanted rooted sprouts in the second and third year: Some of the transplanted <br />aspen in the irrigation plots had apparent dead tops after the first year. It was expected that some <br />of these could grow back from root sprouts. We examined survival and re-growth of these trees <br />that died back from injury or disease the first year. It was expected that surviving plants would <br />do well in the second year following first year transplant shock. Survival and growth in the third <br />year would enhance long term survival. Growth and survival of natural sprouts and potted plants <br />were also examined in the third year to provide an indication of possible long-term survival. <br />Differences in soils: <br />There were rather dramatic differences between the two soil types for many of the attributes <br />measured in 2005. As such, it was important that differences between the two soil treatments be <br />fully described. Soil samples from the two treatments were collected and analyzed for organic <br />matter and nutrient content, water holding capacity, chemical, and physical properties. Since the <br />soils were mixed and soil horizons present in normal soils were missing, integrated samples were <br />collected through the entire surface soil profile, approximately 0.75 to I in depth. Soils were <br />analyzed for soil texture and fertility (organic matter, pH, N, P, K, CEC). Bulk soil samples were <br />periodically collected and oven-dried for soil moisture determination. <br />Given the growth differences observed on the two soil types in 2005, it was important to quantify <br />how the replaced soil differs from natural soils on the Seneca II-W Mine. Samples of undisturbed <br />soil were collected under aspen stands in undisturbed areas of the mine and subjected to the same <br />analysis described above. In addition, differences in soil conditions between reclaimed soils in <br />the <br />study area and those under nearby undisturbed aspen clones were quantified by comparing <br />physical and nutrient characteristics of soil samples from both the normal and augmented <br />reclaimed soils to those of the natural soils. Sampling of the soils under nearby native <br />undisturbed aspen stands were extended to the same depth investigated in the reclaimed soils on <br />the study plot. Effects of reclamation on soil moisture regimes were investigated by monitoring <br />soil moisture during the growing season in undisturbed clones to that of un-irrigated portions of <br />the study site. <br />Discussions with Seneca Coal Company document that the roto-cleared soils had been moved <br />directly from its original site to the plot site; while the dozer-cleared soil placed at the <br />experimental site was from a soil storage site where it had been stored for several months. The <br />difference in response of aspen tree growth between the two soils types was expected to be